Hyderabad: A local court in Hyderabad on Monday, March 17, granted bail to two women journalists who were arrested for allegedly conspiring against Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy. The court also rejected the police’s petition seeking custody of the two journalists.
It is to be noted that journalists, Revathi Pogadadanda, managing director of YouTube news channel Pulse Digital News Network, and Thanvi Yadav, an employee were booked and arrested on March 11 for organised crime under section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanahita (BNS) after a video of a man abusing CM Revanth went viral.
However, their counsel Kiran Kumar Gannamaneni argued that the arrests violated Supreme Court guidelines and were based on false charges. He contended that the police had illegally detained the journalists without proper procedure.
After hearing the arguments, the court dismissed the police custody petition and granted bail to Revathi and Tanya. The journalists were released on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with two sureties.
Earlier today, a Hindustan Times report stated that the court dropped the organised crime charges, noting that Section 111 of BNS does not apply at this stage due to the absence of monetary transactions or other required factors.
Women journalists arrested in Hyderabad
Revathi Pogadadanda and Thanvi Yadav were arrested by the cybercrime unit of the Hyderabad police for allegedly engaging in spreading ‘defamatory content and conspiracy’ against Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy.
According to the Hyderabad police, the case was registered based on a complaint by a Congress social media cell state secretary, who came across an abusive video circulating on the X (Twitter) account. The video, featuring a Pulse TV interview, allegedly contained provocative and defamatory remarks against the Telangana CM.
The complainant accused the news channel and social media profile of deliberate misinformation and attempts to incite unrest.
Based on the complaint, the Hyderabad police registered a case under section 67 IT Act, Sec 111, (organised crime), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 353(2) (assault or criminal force to deter public servant), 352 (assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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