Nupur J. Sharma, editor-in-chief of a web portal, and its chief executive officer Rahul Roushan, have approached the Madras High Court with a plea to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them by the Tamil Nadu police for having published a report related to false allegations of Bihari migrant workers being attacked in the State.
When the quash petition was listed before the summer vacation court, Justice Sathi Kumar Sukumara Kurup ordered it to be posted before the regular court after the vacation ends this month.
The Tiruninravur police, under the Avadi Commissionerate, had registered the FIR last month following a complaint by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam IT wing member Suryaprakash. It had been booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of place of birth, residence, language etc.), 501 (printing defamatory content) and 505 (making statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
Initially, the two petitioners had approached the Supreme Court for getting the FIR quashed. However, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud directed them to approach the Madras High Court first and granted interim protection against coercive action.
