THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The High Court has strongly criticized the actions of the Kerala Police in the ‘Marunadan Malayali’ YouTube channel case. Specifically, the court raised concerns regarding the seizure of a media worker’s phone who is not an accused in the case, questioning the basis for such action. The court emphasized that the journalist’s fundamental rights were violated and ordered the immediate return of the seized phone. Additionally, the court reminded that the media serves as the fourth pillar of democracy.
Highlighting the failure to apprehend the main accused, Shajan Skariah, the court questioned why several other journalists were being harassed. Furthermore, the court raised concerns about the possibility of similar seizures of mobile phones of all journalists.
On July 4, during a raid at the office of Marunadan Malayali web channel, the police seized 25 computers and four laptops. Additionally, raids were conducted at the houses of employees, relatives, and friends of Shajan Skariah, resulting in the seizure of their phones.
In response to a petition filed by journalist Visakhan, the court criticized the police’s actions in this context.
It is worth noting that before the ‘Marunadan Malayali’ case, a private TV channel’s journalist faced charges for presenting news against SFI.
There are allegations being raised that there is an undeclared state of emergency in Kerala.
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