Several FIRs are registered against the arrested YouTuber and three of them are registered in Bihar.
New Delhi:
In a blow to jailed Bihar YouTuber Manish Kashyap, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider his plea challenging the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against him for allegedly circulating fake videos of migrant laborers in Tamil Nadu. refused.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said, “You have a stable state, the state of Tamil Nadu. Can you telecast anything and create disturbance in the state. We cannot pay attention to all this.” “
The bench, also comprising Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, gave liberty to Mr Kashyap to challenge the invocation of the NSA in the High Court at an appropriate judicial forum.
It also dismissed all 19 FIRs against him and his plea for transfer to Bihar.
“We are not inclined to entertain the petition,” the bench said, rejecting the forceful submissions of senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for Kashyap, who is lodged in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai jail.
Refusing to quash Kashyap’s detention under the NSA, the bench said it cannot entertain such a petition.
Mr Kashyap’s counsel said the accused had made the alleged videos for his YouTube channel on the basis of media reports published in some newspapers.
“If this guy has to be in jail, then all journalists should be in jail,” argued the lawyer, adding the FIR was transferred to Bihar, where the police had filed the first complaint.
The counsel appearing for Bihar referred to the details of the FIR registered against Mr. Kashyap in the State and opposed the plea.
He said Kashyap was a habitual criminal and had cases of extortion and attempt to murder pending against him.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, representing Tamil Nadu, said the accused may approach the Madras High Court for clubbing the FIRs.
Sibal said, “He is not a journalist and was a politician who has contested elections in Bihar.” The apex court did not agree with the submissions of Kashyap’s counsel that the NSA has been repealed in many cases.
Mr Kashyap was arrested in Bihar after he surrendered at the Jagdishpur police station on March 18 and was later brought to Tamil Nadu where the NSA was invoked against him in April.
In response to Mr. Kashyap’s petition, the Tamil Nadu government had said that several FIRs lodged against Mr. Kashyap in the state were not politically motivated, but because he had caused “public order and national integrity” by circulating fake videos of migrant laborers. disbanded. The southern state is under attack.
In an affidavit, the state government had opposed Mr Kashyap’s plea to add the FIR registered against him, saying he “cannot take refuge under the umbrella of constitutional rights”. Had attempted to incite violence among Bihari migrant laborers and people of Tamil Nadu through false and unverified videos.
“The registration of multiple FIRs was not done with any political intention, nor to suppress the constitutional rights of the accused, but to prevent the spread of misinformation and to ensure that persons guilty of such crimes go unpunished. Don’t escape the law.
The Tamil Nadu government said in the affidavit, “Freedom of speech and expression is not absolute, but has to be exercised with caution and responsibility. By disturbing public order and national integrity, the accused cannot take shelter under the umbrella of constitutional rights.”
It said that the contention that the process of law has been grossly abused by registering multiple FIRs is not sustainable.
Due process of law was followed by the police in all the FIRs lodged in Tamil Nadu, it was said, Mr Kashyap claimed, disturbing public peace and tranquility and creating an unstable law and order situation in the state.
It had said that a huge amount of fear and panic had arisen in the families of the migrant labourers.
Earlier, the apex court had given time to the Tamil Nadu government, represented by advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, to respond to Kashyap’s amended plea against whom the NSA was invoked for allegedly airing the video.
Several FIRs are registered against the arrested YouTuber and three of them are registered in Bihar.
The apex court had on April 11 issued notice to the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Bihar governments on Kashyap’s plea seeking clubbing of FIRs lodged against him and transfer them to his native state.
The bench had on April 21 directed the state government not to shift Kashyap from the Madurai Central Prison.
Mr. Kashyap appeared before the Madurai district court on April 5, which ordered that he be sent to judicial custody for 15 days, after which he was sent to the Madurai Central Jail.
In his plea before the apex court, Mr Kashyap sought clubbing of all FIRs lodged against him in Tamil Nadu with the FIR lodged in Bihar.
He also stated that the issue of alleged violence in Tamil Nadu against migrant laborers from Bihar was widely reported in the media and the petitioner had been raising his voice against the same since March 1 by making videos on social media platforms and through content on Twitter.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)