SC quashes FIR towards journalist Patricia Mukhim over Facebook publish

The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed an FIR lodged towards the editor of Shillong Times, Patricia Mukhim, for allegedly creating communal disharmony by means of a Facebook publish.
The judgment was delivered by a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Ravindra Bhat on a plea filed by Mukhim towards the Meghalaya High Court’s order dismissing her plea to quash felony proceedings.
Senior Advocate Vrinda Grover argued for Mukhim that there was “no assuaging of feelings of a community which has been attacked brutally”, the Bar and Bench reported.

The plea earlier than the Supreme Court acknowledged that Mukhim is going through persecution for “speaking the truth and seeking enforcement of rule of law against perpetrators of hate crime, in exercise of her fundamental right as guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution of India”.
Mukhim had hit out on the Lawsohtun village “dorbar” (council) on Facebook for failing to determine the “murderous elements” after 5 boys have been attacked at a basketball courtroom in July, 2020.
The police grievance was filed towards Mukhim by the village council on July 6 for her publish on the social media, alleging that her assertion incited communal pressure and would possibly instigate communal battle.
She was subsequently booked beneath Sections 153A (selling enmity between completely different teams on grounds of faith, race, place of origin, residence, language and many others. and different provisions of the IPC.
With inputs from PTI