The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has halted criminal proceedings against a journalist who exposed poor infrastructure at a state-run primary school, remarking that the police case appeared retaliatory and was equivalent to punishing the messenger.
A division bench comprising Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava granted the interim relief on Wednesday while hearing a petition filed by journalist Amit Yadav. Yadav was booked under an FIR registered at Lucknow’s Gosainiganj police station on August 24, four days after his report was published.
Court Notes Retaliatory Action
According to Yadav’s legal counsel, the reporter visited the Upper Primary School at Begariamau in Gosainiganj in his professional capacity. During his visit, he found the campus toilets in a dilapidated state, noted the absence of drinking water for students, and questioned teachers about the facility’s conditions.
Evaluating the timeline, the bench observed that the criminal case against the journalist seemed, on the face of it, to have been initiated in retribution for bringing the school’s infrastructural deficiencies into the public eye.
Affidavit Demanded From Education Department
Alongside staying further proceedings arising from the FIR, the high court instructed the additional chief secretary of the Basic Education Department to file a personal affidavit disclosing the school’s current state. The court further directed that recent photographs of the school premises be submitted alongside the affidavit.
