Adani case: Gujarat court issues arrest warrant against journalist Paranjoy Thakurta

An arrest warrant was issued against journalist Paranjoy Thakurta by a court in Mudra, Gujarat on Tuesday, in the 2017 defamation case filed by the Adani Group. Thakurta had filed a report in 2017 claiming that the Union government facilitated the Adani Group by amending the Special Economic Zone rules that resulted in the group earning a profit of Rs 500 crore.

Ordering the arrest of the journalist, Judicial Magistrate Pradeep Soni directed the Nizamuddin police station in New Delhi to arrest him and produce him before the court.

“...accused stands charged with complaint under section 500 (punishment of defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. You are hereby directed to arrest the said accused and to produce him before me,” the order read, according to news agency PTI.

On June 14, 2017, Thakurta, the then editor of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW), published the explosive article alleging a nexus between the Union government and the group. Subsequently, following notices from the Adani Group, EPW had removed the article from its website. In protest, Thakurta resigned from the post and severed ties with EPW.

The article was then republished in The Wire, the same year. The group then filed a criminal defamation case against seven respondents – Paranjoy Thakurta, the five editors of The Wire and The Foundation for Independent Journalism (FIJ), the non-profit that runs it. The Adani Group claimed that the article was published with the sole intention of harming the reputation of the Adani Power Maharashtra Limited and creating cheap publicity. However, later the group had withdrawn the case against everybody except the author of the article.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that Thakurta was not aware of the court order.

“We haven’t received any intimation (from the court). This information (on arrest warrant) has come to us from the media,” Thakurta’s lawyer Anand Yagnik was quoted as saying by PTI. Yagnik further said that they have moved a discharge application.