HC refuses bail to 3 for ‘fake news’ on Pandian’s security

Cuttack: The Orissa high court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to three alleged RTI activists accused of spreading “fake news” related to the security cover of BJD leader V K Pandian.
On March 30, the three activists — Pradip Pradhan, Prakash Dash, and Srikant Pakal — held a press conference in Bhubaneswar and claimed the number of police personnel deployed around Pandian was 74, an unusually high figure.They claimed the information was obtained through RTI query.
After the state police dismissed the claim stating that no such reply was supplied to any RTI applicant, a case was registered against the three at Saheed Nagar police station in Bhubaneswar on April 4 for allegedly committing forgery and fraudulently using forged document to spread “fake news”.
Subsequently, the three purported RTI activists filed anticipatory bail in the high court on April 6. While rejecting the anticipatory bail plea, the single judge bench of Justice Chittaranjan Dash said on April 30, “This court acknowledges the weight of allegations against the petitioners, which prima facie establishes the accusations of forgery and misrepresentation of information obtained through the RTI Act.”
Justice Dash added, “In the above premises, grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioners would not serve the interests of justice, as there exists substantial material suggesting their involvement in grave misconduct under the alleged offences. The actions alleged not only violates the sanctity of the RTI Act, but also erodes public trust and reliance on the work conducted by RTI activists of promoting transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in governance.”