Zee News Anchor, Out On Bail, Goes To Supreme Court In Rahul Gandhi Row

Zee News anchor Rohit Ranjan has approached the Supreme Court over multiple police cases filed against him for airing a fake news on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. Mr Rajan's petition, however, was not listed in the court records, which was seen as a violation of protocol.

This prompted an apology from senior lawyer Siddharth Luthra, who appeared for the anchor.

"This is not even on record and not yet filed. We should have been told that the matter has not been filed. This is no ground," Justice Indira Banerjee said.

Through the Supreme Court had agreed to list the matter tomorrow, it later got to know the petition papers have not been filed before the court officially. Matters can be mentioned in the Supreme Court only after a petition has been registered in the records.

"He (Mr Rajan) was arrested yesterday by Noida Police and released on bail. He made an error in one of his shows. Now Chhattisgarh Police want to arrest him. Please list it urgently, otherwise he will be in repeated custody," the Zee News anchor's lawyer said.

Mr Ranjan was arrested days after the channel ran a misleading news item on Rahul Gandhi, for which the channel had apologised.

Cases were filed in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh after Mr Ranjan, on his show, played a Rahul Gandhi statement on an attack on his office in Kerala's Wayanad, allegedly running it as a comment on the killers of a tailor in Udaipur.

When the Chhattisgarh Police arrived to arrest him in Noida yesterday, the anchor tweeted asking the Uttar Pradesh police for help. The Chhattisgarh Police, he claimed, had not informed the local police, and tagged UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his tweet.

"There is no such rule to inform. Still, now they are informed. Police team has shown you court's warrant of arrest. You should in fact cooperate, join in investigation and put your defence in court," read the response of the Chhattisgarh Police.

Later, a dramatic video emerged that showed the police of the two states battling for his custody, which ended with the UP Police taking him away on a lighter charge.