Two Telugu television news channels – TV5 and ABN Andhra Jyothy – on Monday moved the Supreme Court, challenging the sedition cases filed against them by the Andhra Pradesh government along with rebel YSR Congress party MP Kanumuri Raghurama Krishnam Raju on Friday.
In their separate petitions filed in the apex court, the channels said the state government had deliberately fixed them in the case though they had telecast the statements of Raju as part of their duty. They wanted that the cases against them be quashed.
The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh police named TV5 and ABN-Andhra Jyothy – as accused no. 2 and 3 (A-2 and A-3) in the FIR registered against Raghurama Krishnam Raju. All the charges attributed to Raju were also levelled against the two channels.
Though the CID police did not arrest any representatives of these two channels, the filing of cases against them evoked criticism from the Telugu Desam Party obviously because of their pro-TDP stand.
Interestingly, there was not much protest from journalists’ unions either, except a token statement condemning the cases.
The CID said the two media houses had conspired with Raju against the state government by allotting him slots in the channels for telecasting his hate speeches against the government.
“The two channels, by allowing pre-meditates and organised slots in their bulletins – have clearly shown that there was a meeting of minds of Raju with the heads of these media channels and all of them together conspired against the government,” the CID said in the FIR.
It charged Raju and the media channels with hatching a well-orchestrated conspiracy to create disaffection and to being contempt and hatred against the government.
“They also instigated disharmony in public by creating a feeling of hatred on the grounds of caste and religion,” the FIR said.