Tripura violence: SC stays criminal proceedings against journalists and media house
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the criminal proceedings against two women journalists and media house booked by the Tripura police for their reporting on alleged communal violence in the State.
The top court also stayed the proceedings against a third journalist, an Associate Editor in the same media house, who was recently summoned by the police in connection with the reports on violence.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and Vikram Nath issued notice to the Tripura government and sought its response in four weeks on the plea of media house and journalists, seeking quashing of two FIRs lodged against them.
Pending further orders, there shall be a stay of further proceedings pursuant to (i) FIR No 39 of 2021 registered on November 14, 2021, at Fatikroy Police Station, Unakoti, Tripura; and (ii) FIR No 82 of 2021 registered on November 14, 2021, at Police Station Kakraban Udaypur Gomati, Tripura'', the bench said.
The top court tagged the plea with other similar matters pending before it.
The two journalists Samridhi Sakunia and Swarna Jha were booked by the police along with their media house Theo Connect Pvt Ltd. Arti Ghargi, Associate Editor in the media house was recently summoned by the police for questioning in connection with the coverage on violence.
At the outset, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the journalists, said that they were picked up by the police pursuant to the FIR, and bail was granted but there is another FIR.
The difficulty being faced is that you report the news, and one FIR is registered and then a second one is registered to say that it has been established in the first FIR that journalists are wrong. This is wrong and cannot be justified , he said.
In November, police have registered two FIRs alleging that the reports of the journalists promoted enmity between groups and have spread communal hatred by publishing alleged baseless news about the violent incidents.
The petitioners have sought quashing of the FIR saying that it was an abuse of the criminal process of law as they were doing their work based on the version of the victims of the violence.
The plea said that if the State is allowed to criminalize the very act of fact-finding and unbiased reporting then the only facts that will come in the public domain are those that are convenient to the state due to the chilling effect on the freedom of speech and expression of members of civil society.
If the quest for truth and reporting thereof itself is criminalized then the victim in the process is the idea of justice , the plea said, adding that the offence of hate speech alleged against the journalists is bizarre as their endeavor was fact-finding and ground reporting of the alleged riots, which have taken place in Tripura.
On November 17, the top court had directed the Tripura police not to take any coercive action against the three civil society members, including a journalist, in connection with an FIR lodged under the harsh UAPA provisions against them for allegedly bringing facts through social media posts about targeted violence against the minority community in the state.
It had issued notice to the Agartala police on the plea filed by advocates, Mukesh and Ansarul Haq, and journalist Shyam Meera Singh against the lodging of the FIR.
The three persons, who were part of a fact-finding committee, have also challenged the Constitutional validity of some provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 on the grounds that the definition of unlawful activities is vague and wide; moreover, the statute makes the grant of bail to accused very difficult.
The FIR took note of a tweet of one of the members of the civil society which had stated that "Tripura is burning".
Recently, the north-eastern state witnessed incidents of arson, looting, and violence after reports emerged from Bangladesh that the Hindu minorities there had been attacked during Durga Puja' on allegations of blasphemy.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
===================
The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
