The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday granted bail to scribe Bhawana Kishore, and two others. Justice Augustine George Masis questioned their arrest in the very first place and the subsequent remand order by the magistrate.
Bhawana and the other two had moved the high court for quashing the FIR registered under the provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the provisions of the IPC after claiming that the case was "nothing but political witchhunt on State of Punjab’s part”.
Senior advocates RS Rai and Chetan Mittal with counsel Gautam Dutt appeared before the Bench on the petitioners’ behalf. The plea added that the news channel she was working for had been reporting against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for constructing/renovating his official residence at the costs of Rs 45 crore.
"As a counter blast and to teach lesson to the news channel, the present false case has been registered against the petitioners, who are innocent and being framed,” it added.
The petition added the group she works for got an invitation for inauguration of government-run clinic at Ludhiana. While the petitioners were returning, the car probably brushed past a rickshaw after which they were asked to come out of the vehicle. On arrival of police, they were illegally detained and taken in police custody.
Thereafter, a story was framed alleging that a Ludhiana resident was on her way along with two others to attend inauguration of the clinic by the Delhi Chief Minister and were hit by a rashly-driven vehicle, resulting in injury to her right hand. Her phone also fell down. It was also alleged that the petitioners during the altercation used derogatory words against the caste of the complainant on which the present FIR was registered.
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