The first judicial magistrate court in Coimbatore on Tuesday granted bail to Andrew Sam Raja Pandian, founder of news portal SimpliCity, who was arrested on April 23 for carrying a news item on alleged shortcomings faced by government healthcare professionals and corruption by some employees of the State-run public distribution system.
Magistrate A. Prabu granted bail to Mr. Pandian and directed him to execute a bond for ₹10,000 with two sureties on or after June 1, 2020 and before June 15, 2020.
He was arrested on a complaint from a Coimbatore Corporation official that the report was “false” and “provocative” against the State Government.
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Bail opposed
The police opposed the bail, stating that the investigation into the charge against Mr. Pandian was in the initial stage. They said the report was carried with a malafide intention to create fear in the public and cause a law and order problem. The police contended that if released on bail, he would carry more such “false” reports.
Counsel for the petitioner submitted that he was innocent, did his job as a journalist, and never published a false news or carry out a propaganda against the State. There no malafide intention in carrying the news and he was not connected to any political group, the Counsel argued.
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