Interim Bail Of TV Journalist Extended, Two Others Get Relief From High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday extended the relief granted to TV journalist Bhawana Kishore and also gave interim bail to her cameraman and driver till May 23.
    
The three were arrested by Punjab Police after their vehicle hit a woman in Ludhiana on Friday. They were also accused of using derogatory language against the complainant.
    
On Saturday, Kishore, a Times Now Navbharat journalist, was granted interim bail by the court. 
    
On Tuesday, cameraman Mrityunjay Kumar and driver Parmender Singh were given interim bail by the court of Justice Augustine George Masih. The court fixed May 22 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
    
“This judgment is a big relief after the ordeal faced by the channel and the trio who have been tormented," Times Now Navbharat said in a statement.
    
Several journalist bodies have condemned the police action after the TV reporter was booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, besides charges for rash driving, and "detained".
    
Later, the journalist and two others moved the high court, seeking a quashing of the FIR filed against them.
    
The TV channel in an earlier statement said it had been invited to cover an AAP political programme hosted by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwat Mann in Ludhiana.
    
It alleged a group of women in an e-rickshaw rammed their vehicle into the journalist's car and got into a brawl, adding it has reasons to believe that the women were "motivated AAP workers". It claimed it has been subjected to harassment over its coverage of the expenditure incurred in the renovation of Kejriwal's official residence.
    
AAP leader Atishi on Saturday said no one is above the law and Punjab Police must take the strongest possible action. She said the matter should be left to the court.