Responding to a complaint of harassment on Twitter by Zee TV journalist, Sudhir Chaudhary, implicated in a sting by a corporate house for asking for money to drop a story, a Delhi metropolitan magistrate has directed the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to register an FIR against “unknown persons.”
The court, however, said no arrests should be made “without reasonable cause.”
Mr. Chaudhary had claimed he had been “followed by new people” on Twitter, who posted “nasty tweets.”
These, he alleged, were “not genuine,” and a “hostile atmosphere was created…in personal and professional life.” His grievances, he said, were not addressed by the Crime Branch.
The EOW, in response, said the complaint had been lodged in order to “create new defences” in the older case; the contents of the tweets were already “public knowledge” and not “false or grossly offensive or menacing in character.”
The court said it was satisfied that the complainant had “disclosed commission of cognisable offences and does not have the means to collect the evidence.” It directed that an FIR be registered under the relevant sections, and a status report filed by April 18.
Mr. Chaudhary is currently out on bail in the case where he is booked for extortion, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. Jindal Steel and Power Limited had alleged that the Zee journalist, along with a colleague, demanded Rs. 100 crore for not airing negative news.
