Supreme Court Shields News Anchor Amid Probe into Gangster Interviews

The Supreme Court has protected a news anchor from arrest during an investigation into mobile interviews with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Bishnoi, accused in the 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, gave the interviews in prison. The court emphasized the serious breach of jail regulations and ordered a detailed probe.

The Supreme Court on Friday protected a private news channel anchor from arrest amidst a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into his mobile phone interviews with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

Bishnoi, implicated in the 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, allegedly orchestrated an attack on Bollywood actor Salman Khan. He provided video interviews from jail to the news anchor, raising concerns about a grave violation of prison rules by the Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The bench noted, "....at a certain level, perhaps your client seeking the interview may have breached certain regulations of the jail."

Responding to a plea from the news channel, the court issued notices to the Punjab government and IPS officer Prabodh Kumar, who heads the SIT mandated by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. With advocates Mukul Rohatgi and RS Cheema representing the news channel and anchor, the Supreme Court directed that no coercive measures be taken against the anchor pending further orders.

(With inputs from agencies.)