Amit Malviya v The Wire: Court rejects Delhi Police plea against order to release journalists' electronic devices

A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by the Delhi Police challenging a magistrate court order directing it to release the electronic devices seized from the editors and journalists of The Wire..Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Singh Rajawat of the Tis Hazari Courts noted that the magistrate has not terminated the proceedings, and that the order under challenge does not decide any right but only deals with the interim custody of the devices till conclusion of investigation or disposal of the case.The ASJ said that the magistrate's order is purely interlocutory in nature and that a revision application against the same is not maintainable..Judge Rajawat said that the continuous seizure of the devices of the respondents (The Wire editors and reporters) is causing undue hardship to them. The Court also observed that this is impinging upon their fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression as well as their right to freedom of profession, occupation, trade or business guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution. "The Press is considered the Fourth Pillar of our great Democracy and if it is not allowed to function and operate independently, it would cause serious injury to the foundations of our Democracy," the Court said. .Electronic devices of The Wire’s founding editors Siddharth Varadarajan and MK Venu, as well its editors Sidharth Bhatia, Jahnavi Sen and product-cum-business head Mithun Kidambi, were seized by the police in October 2022. The Delhi Police had registered a case against The Wire and its editors on a complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya. Malviya had filed the complaint over The Wire’s stories claiming that he enjoyed a special privilege on Meta platforms through which he could get any story taken down if he believed it was against the BJP's interests. The stories were later retracted.The news website in turn had filed a complaint against its former consultant Devesh Kumar.The Wire claimed that Kumar “fabricated and supplied documents, e-mails and other material such as videos with a view to damage its reputation. He has done so either on his own or at the behest of other unknown persons"..In September 2023, the magistrate ordered the release of the devices, prompting the Delhi Police to challenge this order before the sessions court..Advocate Ashwath Sitaraman appeared for the The Wire’s journalists and editors..[Read Order]