The Supreme Court has granted interim protection to Aaj Tak’s consulting editor Sudhir Chaudhary in the case pertaining to his alleged anti-tribal remarks following the arrest of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, LiveLaw reported.
Chaudhary had approached the top court after the Jharkhand High Court had refused to stay proceedings against him.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued a notice over the FIR registered by the Ranchi police under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. The court indicated that no coercive action should be taken until it hears the matter again after three weeks.
The Aadivasi Sena had filed a complaint against the anchor.
Chaudhary had earlier called all the allegations “baseless”.
In a statement on X, responding to “all the hateful posts” directed towards him, the anchor said he was “pained” over the “baseless” accusations of “insulting tribals”. He said criticising Soren does “not tantamount to insult of tribals”.
Chaudhary said his show was focused on how “rich” politicians “misused tribal votes”. He also emphasised that a short clip shared by those with “vested interests” had “changed the context” to give out a “misleading” message.
Chaudhary had also apologised. He said, “If I have intentionally hurt their (adivasi brothers and sisters), I unconditionally apologise to them.”
During his primetime show Black and White on January 31, the day Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, Chaudhary said Soren and his family were not “Adivasis” as they lived in “big bungalows”.
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