Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan had aired a doctored clip of Rahul Gandhi.
Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan can't be arrested just yet, the Supreme Court said on Friday, following police cases over a doctored clip of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
With the police from Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on his tail, the TV presenter had approached the Supreme Court, requesting protection from "any coercive action" and that cases against him be clubbed.
The top court also issued notice, including to the centre through the office of the Attorney General, on Mr Ranjan's plea in which he also sought security for himself, his family members, and his colleagues associated with the programme.
Mr Ranjan had played a video in which Rahul Gandhi described those attacking a party office in Kerala as children and said he had no ill-will against them.
However, the channel said he had made the comment about the killers of Udaipur tailor Kanhaiya Lal who was killed over a social media post defending former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's controversial remark on Prophet Muhammad.
Mr Ranjan and the network later apologised.
But on Tuesday, a police team from Chhattisgarh reached Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad to arrest the anchor from his home, prompting him to tweet an SOS to the police in the BJP-ruled state.
Following a dramatic fight among the police officers of the two states outside his home, he was arrested by the Noida Police and released on bail the same night.
Since then, he has not been found by the Chhattisgarh cops who camped out in the state and visited his office too.
Chhattisgarh Police officials said they are exploring legal options against counterparts in Noida and Ghaziabad.