The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Bihar on YouTuber Manish Kashyap’s plea challenging his detention order under National Security Act for posting fake news on alleged attacks on migrant workers from Bihar and their consequent fleeing.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice J B Pardiwala asked the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Bihar to file reply on the YouTuber Kashyap’s amended plea.
Posting the matter for further hearing on April 28, the court ordered that Manish Kashyap should not be moved from Central Jail Madurai till further orders.
Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave appearing for Kashyap had in the course of the arguments told the bench that Kashyap should not be dragged from one place to another on the basis of production warrants. He told the bench that six FIRs have been registered in Tamil Nadu and three FIRs in Bihar. Dave said that NSA has been invoked against Kashyap by the Tamil Nadu police.
Appearing for Tamil Nadu government, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said that the Kashyap has circulated fake news and the incidents in which FIRs have been registered are of separate nature.
A lawyer, appearing for Bihar government, said that Kashyap is a habitual offender and prior to the incident, eight separate FIRs were registered against him in Bihar.
Manish Kashyap, a Bihar-based journalist said that many false FIRs were registered against him in Bihar and Tamil Nadu at the behest of the present government.
Kashyap has sought interim bail and clubbed all cases in one place. He has said that cases against him were filed because he has raised the issue of violence against the Bihar-based migrant labourers in Tamil Nadu on social media. He was arrested from Bettiah in Bihar on March 18.