New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted interim protection from arrest to Shaajan Scaria, the editor of Marunadan Malayali, observing that the case against him does not fall under the purview of the SC-ST Atrocities Act.
The bench, including Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice P.V. Narasimha, however, upheld the argument that Scaria had made defamatory statements.
As a result, the court granted Scaria temporary protection from arrest until the case could be heard in three weeks' time. This decision has put a hold on the imminent arrest of the Marunadan Malayali editor.
During the court proceedings, Adv. V. Giri, the lawyer representing Sreenijan, made an appeal to the judges to review the translated version of the contentious video that led to the case against Shaajan.
Responding to this, the Chief Justice confirmed that he had already examined the translation and concluded that there was no requirement to invoke the SC-ST Prevention of Torture Act. Moreover, the Chief Justice emphasized that the mere fact that the complainant belongs to the SC-ST category does not automatically mean that all accusations against him should fall under the SC-ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The court urged senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who was representing Shajan, to counsel Shaajan Skaria on practising greater caution while expressing his views.
Following a complaint lodged by Kunathunadu MLA P.V. Sreenij, a case was registered against Shajan by the police. However, Shajan's plea for bail was dismissed by the High Court, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Initially scheduled to be heard on the 17th, the Supreme Court expedited the consideration of the petition, acknowledging its urgency. Today, the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud reviewed the petition.
On May 25, Shajan Scaria, through various media outlets associated with the Marunadan Malayali channel, extensively disseminated news content that insulted Sriniji. Disturbed by these actions, the MLA lodged a complaint with the Elamakara police on June 8.
Following the registration of the case and the commencement of the investigation, Shaajan absconded. Subsequently, an appeal was made to the High Court to annul the filed FIR, but unfortunately, the request was denied.