The High Court, on Monday, restrained the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) from sharing any information about the investigation into the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad.
The court also restrained Indian Express , an English daily, from publishing any news items pertaining to the Mecca Masjid blast investigation, while dealing with a petition filed by Devendra Gupta, one of the accused persons in the blast case.
The petitioner submitted that a special court in Hyderabad had permitted the NIA to send some objects to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for analysis and its report was to be submitted to the court.
However, he complained, the Chandigarh edition of Indian Express had carried a news item pertaining to CFSL report.
The reporter had disclosed that the information was given by the NIA officers and the report made serious allegations linking various terror incidents to one group and the word ‘Hindu terror bomb’ was used in the report.
The petitioner alleged that the NIA and CBI have been systematically planting news items in media ‘to create a vitiated atmosphere’ which was denying him a fair trial.
He also told the court that the special court had informed him that it had not received the CFSL report.
The report was hence leaked by the NIA, the petitioner said, praying for a full-fledged probe into the matter and change of the investigating officer and punishment to those who leaked the news.
Justice M.S. Ramchandra Rao, who heard the arguments, ordered notices to other agencies and granted interim orders on disclosure of information and publication of news on the case.
