In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India on Monday granted interim protection from arrest to journalist Mamta Tripathi, who is embroiled in legal disputes following a video report she published in Dainik Bhaskar about the administration in Uttar Pradesh. The bench, which includes Justice BR Gavai and Justice KV Viswanathan, also requested a response from the Uttar Pradesh government regarding Tripathi’s plea to quash the FIR filed against her.
During the proceedings, the Court ordered that no coercive actions should be taken against Tripathi while the case is under review. “Issue notice to the respondent. In the meantime, no coercive action will be taken against the petitioner in the cases against her,” the Court stated. It further instructed the counsel for the State of Uttar Pradesh to provide copies of the case papers to Tripathi, enabling her to make appropriate submissions in her defense.
Tripathi had sought the apex court’s intervention after the Allahabad High Court, on September 11, declined to quash the FIR lodged against her, which included charges under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and 501 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Representing Tripathi, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave argued that the FIRs constituted targeted harassment against the journalist, asserting her right to report. “This is complete harassment against a journalist in UP. Every time I post a tweet, an FIR is filed against me. This is absolute harassment. Please protect me,” Dave stated, adding that Dainik Bhaskar had corroborated the accuracy of Tripathi’s report.
On the other side, Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, highlighted that the state had not been fully heard when the Supreme Court previously granted protection to Tripathi. She also pointed out Tripathi’s absence from trial court proceedings and requested additional time to submit the complete facts of the case.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the matter for a follow-up in two weeks, allowing time for the Uttar Pradesh government to present its arguments comprehensively. Meanwhile, Tripathi will maintain her interim protection from arrest, a relief she previously received in October in connection with multiple FIRs related to her tweets.
