SC’s Strong Comment On Viveka Case Gag Order

Last month, the Kadapa district court ordered a few opposition leaders not to speak about the murder case of YS Vivekananda Reddy until the conclusion of elections, as the case is pending in the CBI court.

YS Sharmila, Viveka’s daughter Suneetha, B.Tech Ravi, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Nara Lokesh, Pawan Kalyan and Purandeshwari are some of the leaders who were ordered not to speak about Viveka’s murder case during the election campaign.

Challenging the Kadapa district court’s decision, Sharmila filed a petition in the Andra Pradesh High Court. However, the High Court declined to interfere in the order passed by the Kadapa Court.

Soon, Sharmila approached the Supreme Court. A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta conducted an inquiry about the petition and stayed the injunction order passed by the Kadapa Court.

The bench opined that the district judge passed an order without even hearing the defendants’ arguments. The magistrate opined that the Kadapa court’s order restricts the freedom of speech and expression.

Issuing notices to all defendants, the magistrate stated that the next hearing would be held after the conclusion of the summer holidays.