Indian Court orders release of journalist held for Twitter post on Hindu leader
NEW DELHI REUTERS JUNE 11 - In a case that highlighted growing concerns over free speech and media freedom, India’s top Court on Monday ordered the release of a journalist arrested for a social media post about a Hindu nationalist state Chief Minister.
Prashant Kanojia, 26, was detained by plainclothes police last week after a tweet about a woman claiming to be in love with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Kanojia’s wife said in a petition filed before the Supreme Court.
A firebrand Hindu monk, Adityanath is a leader in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in power at the federal level and in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state.
“We order immediate release of the petitioner from jail,” Justice Indira Banerjee said in her order, despite a lawyer for the state government arguing that Kanojia’s post was highly inflammatory.
Banerjee also reprimanded the state government for being heavyhanded in its response to Kanojia’s post.“we can understand that the tweets should not be made. But arresting?” she said.