The Himachal Pradesh High Court today ordered dismissing all charges against a journalist who conducted an 'expose' on the state government e-pass system during the Covid pandemic. Aman Bhardwaj, 26, had applied for two e-passes to enter the state - one for Amitabh Bachchan and the other for Donald Trump.
The passes were duly registered and emailed to the journalist. After the report aired on his channel 'Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal', the director of the state's information technology department, filed a police complaint against Mr Bhardwaj for forgery, cheating, and false warning.
The court today asked the police to drop all charges against the journalist stating that he did not commit any act with an intention to commit fraud.
"In the present case, petitioner did not commit any act with intention to defraud, but for a reality check and verifying the working of the system of online registration and generation of e-passes," the court observed.
Mr Bhardwaj had used his phone and Aadhaar number to register for both e-passes. The court observed that during verification, the authorities should have noticed that the identities and the Aadhaar numbers of the applicants did not match.
"It did not happen and requests for e-passes were not only registered but e-passes were also generated. Petitioner never intended to use nor used these e-passes for entering in Himachal Pradesh. He brought this lapse in the system to the notice of higher authorities," the court observed.
Karnataka Forms Special Team To Probe 'Covid Scam' During BJP Rule Who Ate Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister's Samosas? In Big Move, Congress Dissolves Himachal Pradesh Unit "Go Falcon. Go GSAT-20": SpaceX Successfully Launches Indian Satellite Why Donald Trump's Cabinet Choices Are Giving Pakistan Sleepless Nights Dhaka, Islamabad Inch Closer With Historic Sea Link. How It Impacts India China's Xi Jinping Urges G20 Leaders To Help "Cool" Ukraine Crisis Timeline: Key Events Leading Up To US Presidential Inauguration Kim Jong Un Meets Russia's Minister In Pyongyang As Ukraine War Deepens Ties Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.