The Supreme Court on Thursday directed that no coercive action be taken against a woman journalist accused of making casteist remarks against Delhi Police assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat , after she alleged that the case against her was a counterblast to her complaint accusing the officer of sexual harassment during a protest in the Capital.
The order came on a day the Delhi High Court declined to hear urgently the journalist’s plea challenging the FIR against her for allegedly making casteist remarks, publicly humiliating Bhagat and obstructing him from discharging his official duties. The petitioner, represented by senior advocate Indira Jaising, was allowed to submit in a sealed cover the identities of all women journalists who were victims and wished to submit complaints in writing. “There are allegations against certain police officers. We are considering whether there must be an independent committee to probe them,” the court remarked. I am not on this lady but there is a version that the video she has produced (alleging harassment) could be AI generated. Bhagat has denied the allegations.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a petition filed by the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), which flagged allegations of violence and sexual harassment faced by women journalists covering protests in Delhi on October 10 and earlier. It also questioned the timing of the police action, pointing to an alleged 10-day delay in reporting the incident underlying the FIR, compared with the registration of the case within half an hour of the information being supplied. The controversy dates to October 3, when the woman journalist said she was recording the detention of a Left activist at the protest when Bhagat allegedly touched her inappropriately and pushed her.
Jaising said that since the allegation was against police personnel, an independent commission be constituted, comprising predominantly former women judges, Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, eminent citizens and social activists. The court said, “Meanwhile, no coercive action be taken against the journalist,” and further allowed Jaising to submit in a sealed cover her suggestions on persons who could be part of the committee. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta , appearing for the police, told the court to await its response before taking any decision on constituting an independent commission. On the journalist’s allegation against the officer, Mehta said, “Difficulty is that in the present era of mobile technology, everybody is a journalist. The petition said no FIR had been registered on her sexual harassment complaint. The police forwarded her complaint to the crime branch for an “impartial inquiry”.
