Journalist Kanojia released from jail, says he has complete faith in judiciary

Journalist Prashant Kanojia, who was arrested for making "objectionable comments" against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, was on Wednesday released from jail, a day after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

"I will read the Supreme Court order and then talk to the media. I have complete faith in the judiciary," Kanojia told reporters as he came out of the prison here.

He arrested by the UP Police from Delhi on Saturday after a case was registered at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow.

The order for his immediate release on bail was passed by a vacation bench comprising Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Ajay Rastogi on Tuesday on a petition filed by Kanojia's wife Jigisha.

During the hearing, Justice Banerjee said, "Liberty of a citizen is sacrosanct and non-negotiable. It is guaranteed by the Constitution and it cannot be infringed upon."

She said, "We can understand that the tweets should not have been made. But arresting..."

The bench observed, "Opinions may vary. He (Prashant) probably should not have published or written the tweets, but on what basis was he arrested."

It also asked the UP government to show "magnanimity in releasing him".

Kanojia was arrested for making certain "objectionable comments" against Adityanath on social media and for "spreading rumours".

He has been booked under Sections 500 (defamation), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.

On Sunday, the Editors Guild of India had condemned the arrest of Kanojia, Eshika Singh, head of Noida-based new channel Nation Live, and Anuj Shukla, an editor of the channel, in connection with the case.