Toolkit case: Delhi HC issues notice to NBSA, TV channels on Disha Ravi’s plea against FIR leak

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 18

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued notices to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) and some TV news channels on Disha Ravi’s petition against “leaking” contents of the Toolkit FIR to the media, even as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asserted there was no leak from the Delhi police.

The Delhi Police on Thursday denied before the Delhi High Court that they leaked any material to the media in relation to its probe in the FIR against climate activist Disha Ravi for her alleged involvement in sharing a toolkit backing the ongoing farmers’ protest.

During the hearing on Ravi’s plea to restrain Delhi police from leaking any probe material to the media in relation to the FIR lodged against her, Mehta told Justice Prathiba M Singh that the allegations were baseless.

Asking the police to file an affidavit with regard to their assertion that they didn’t leak any material relating to the investigation to the media, Justice Singh posted the matter for further hearing on Friday.

A Delhi court had on February 14 sent Ravi to a five-day police remand for custodial interrogation after the police said they wanted to ascertain her alleged links to the Khalistan movement. Her police custody ends on Friday.

Delhi Police — probing the “toolkit Google doc” backing the farmers’ agitation shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg — had arrested Ravi while Mumbai lawyer Jacob and Pune engineer Shantanu Muluk have been granted pre-arrest bail.

The case against unnamed persons was registered on the charges of criminal conspiracy, sedition and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The cyber cell had lodged an FIR against “pro-Khalistan” creators of the toolkit for waging a “social, cultural and economic war against the government of India”.

Ravi urged the Delhi High Court to restrain the media from publishing the content or extract of any private chats — including those on WhatsApp — between her and third parties, contending that it violated her fundamental right to privacy, right to reputation and right to a fair trial.

She pointed out that the police first “leaked investigative material” — such as the alleged WhatsApp chats — the substance and details of which were only in the possession of the investigating agency.