Abhijit Iyer Mitra was sent to jail for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of people of Odisha.
A camp court at the special jail had reserved its verdict on the bail plea of Delhi-based journalist Abhijit Iyer Mitra and extended his jail custody by 14 days, a government advocate said on Wednesday.
Camp courts are being held in the jails of Odisha as lawyers are on strike for the last two months.
The sub-divisional judicial magistrate, Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday held a camp court at the special jail, where the journalist is lodged after his arrest from his residence in New Delhi on October 23, the advocate said.
Iyer Mitra was sent to jail for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the people of Odisha by issuing derogatory remarks against the Sun Temple at Konark, Lord Jagannath and the state.
His initial 14-day judicial remand had ended on November 5. His lawyer had thereafter moved the bail plea before the camp court on Tuesday.
Iyer Mitra was arrested in connection with a case filed at the Sahid Nagar police station under Indian Penal Code sections 294 (obscene acts and songs), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc.) 500 (defamation), 506 (criminal intimidation) and section 67 (punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
Odisha Assembly Speaker P K Amat had set up a House committee on September 20 for an inquiry into the alleged breach of privilege by the journalist following his alleged derogatory remarks against the state, its culture and the lawmakers.
Iyer Mitra had appeared before the House Committee of Odisha Assembly on October 23 and tendered an unconditional apology for his remarks on the legislators.
He was asked to submit an affidavit on November 2. He had requested time for an additional day and complied with the orders the next day.
The Konark police had also secured a four-day remand of the journalist for questioning him over his alleged offensive remarks on the Sun Temple.