The Gujarat High Court has quashed a sedition case lodged against a journalist by the Ahmedabad Police for writing a speculative story on change of guard in Gujarat in May last.
Justice R.P. Dholaria quashed the FIR against Dhaval Patel, editor and owner of an online portal, following his unconditional apology for the article. After his story suggested the imminent possibility of replacement of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani with Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, a case was registered against him under section 124A of the IPC and section 54 of the Disaster Management Act. He was arrested and jailed for two weeks before getting bail.
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The Court held that since the petitioner had apologised, the FIR should be quashed. It cautioned him against writing any speculative articles without properly verifying the facts.
