New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday restrained Tripura police from arresting lawyers Mukesh Kumar and Ansarul Haq, besides journalist Shyam Meera Singh, who were booked under the UAPA provisions for their alleged social media posts on communal violence in the state of Tripura.
The three-Judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana and also comprising Justices Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud and Surya Kant, passed the interim order, after going through the petition filed by the accused lawyers and the journalist.
Tripura Police had booked the petitioners - Kumar, Haq and Singh, apart from other activists, for offences punishable under the Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act (UAPA).
The three had moved the Supreme Court, seeking to immediately quash the first information report (FIR) registered against them.
Singh, in his petition, had claimed that the BJP-led Tripura Government had slapped UAPA charges against him and others for his tweet, which said, "Tripura is burning."
The top court of the country also issued notice to the Tripura government on their petition challenging some provisions of UAPA. The plea claimed that it is often misused by police to harass the citizens for statements made in exercise of free speech. (UNI)