SC to hear on Apr 10 Manish Kashyap's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs

New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Thursday it will hear on April 10 a plea filed by a YouTuber, arrested for allegedly spreading fake videos on Bihar migrant labourers being attacked in Tamil Nadu, seeking clubbing of FIRs lodged against him.

The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud for urgent listing. The bench agreed to hear the matter at the end of the board during the day itself.

Later, the matter came up for hearing before the bench at around 4.25 PM.

The counsel appearing for petitioner Manish Kashyap, who has also sought quashing of the FIRs lodged against him over the same alleged cause of action, told the apex court that the petitioner has now been booked under the National Security Act (NSA).

"Let's keep it on Monday (April 10)," the CJI said.

Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, along with advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, appeared for the state of Tamil Nadu When the petitioner's counsel urged the court for some interim relief, Hegde said Kashyap is in custody by a judicial order and it was not a case of illegal detention.

"How can we grant interim relief if he is in custody!" the bench observed, adding the matter will be heard on April 10.

Earlier in the day, the police said Kashyap has been booked under the National Security Act (NSA).

According to Madurai Superintendent of Police Shiva Prasad, Manish Kashyap, who circulated fake videos of Bihari migrant labourers being attacked in Tamil Nadu, has been detained under NSA.

Kashyap had on Wednesday appeared before the Madurai district court which ordered that he be remanded in judicial custody for 15 days following which he was sent to the Madurai central prison.

Cases have been filed against Kashyap and others for allegedly spreading fake videos of migrant workers being attacked in the southern state.

In his plea filed in the apex court through advocate A P Singh, the petitioner has sought clubbing of all the FIRs registered against him in Tamil Nadu with those lodged in Bihar.

The plea said several FIRs have been registered against him, including three in Bihar and two in Tamil Nadu.

"The petitioner is filing the present writ petition in extremely urgent circumstances as several FIRs have been registered against him in different parts of the country and has a reasonable belief that more FIRs will be registered at the behest of the present ruling government regime in the state of Bihar," the petition said. It said these were "in gross violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioner, including but not limited to the right to freedom of speech and expression.... and right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution of India".

The petitition said the issue of alleged violence against Bihari migrants in Tamil Nadu was widely reported in media and the petitioner, from March 1 onwards, raised his voice by making videos on social media platforms and writing content on Twitter.

"It is pertinent to mention herein that the petitioner has been involved in 'investigative journalism' and has been critical in raising his voice against governmental actions through his various social media platforms," the plea said.

It alleged various complaints and FIRs on the same subject have been filed at the behest of the government in Bihar on "politically motivated grounds, precipitated with malice" against the petitioner.

It said Kashyap had surrendered before the police in Bihar on March 18 in connection with a previous case, and later on March 27, he was handed over to the Tamil Nadu Police.

"The multiple FIRs lodged against the petitioner is a blatant example of police power intended to cause a chilling effect on freedom of speech and expression of media," the petition said.

It has also sought a direction that neither cognisance of any complaint be taken by any court nor any FIR be registered by the police on the cause of action as stated in the petition.