Intolerance much? On day SC said right to liberty 'sacrosanct', two arrested for mocking Deve Gowda in Karnataka

The arrest comes amid the raging debate over liberty of citizens following the arrest of a journalist in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making objectionable comments against UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on social media.

Incidentally, the Supreme Court Tuesday ordered immediate release of the journalist, Prashant Kanojia, saying fundamental right to liberty is "sacrosanct" and "non-negotiable".

The court, however, deprecated the journalist for his posts against Adityanath and said it did not approve of them.

Directing immediate release on bail of journalist Prashant Kanojia, arrested for allegedly making objectionable comments on social media against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Supreme Court Tuesday said fundamental right to liberty is "sacrosanct" and "non-negotiable".
 

The apex court clarified however that granting bail to Kanojia cannot be construed as approval of the posts or tweets.

The order is being passed in "view of the excessiveness of the action taken", it said, making it clear that the proceedings against the journalist will go on as per the law.

The top court slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for arresting the scribe and observed that fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution cannot be infringed upon by the state. 

"May be, we don't appreciate these tweets, but the question is whether he should be behind bars for these social media posts," it said after perusing the tweets. 

It was a "glaring case of deprivation of liberty" as Kanojia has been remanded to almost two-week judicial custody for putting up posts or tweets in social media, said a vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi.

The bench was hearing a habeas corpus petition (a writ for producing a person who is under arrest or in unlawful detention before a court) filed by Kanojia's wife, Jagisha Arora, challenging his arrest.

"We direct that the petitioner's husband be immediately released on bail on conditions to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional Chief Judicial Magistrate. It is made clear that this order is not to be construed as an approval of the posts/tweets in the social media. This order is passed in view of the excessiveness of the action taken," the bench said in its order.

Kanojia had allegedly shared a video on Twitter and Facebook wherein a woman is seen speaking to reporters of various media organisations outside the chief minister's office in Lucknow, claiming that she had sent a marriage proposal to Adityanath. 

An FIR was registered against Kanojia by a sub-inspector at the Hazratganj police station in Uttar Pradesh last Friday in which it was alleged that accused made "objectionable comments against the CM and tried to malign his image".