Orissa High Court quashes case against Odisha TV for phone conversation undermining seriousness of COVID-19

The Orissa High Court recently quashed a criminal case against Odisha TV (OTV) for broadcasting a phone conversation between two individuals regarding COVID-19. [Swadheen Kumar Raut v. State].The first information report (FIR) registered against OTV accused the channel of dissuading the public from availing treatment for COVID-19, thereby causing an increase in the spread of the infection. The FIR further alleged that fear and alarm were being spread among the public by OTV on the medical treatment protocol and clinical management of COVID patients, due to the circulation of the phone conversation. .The Bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar, however, observed that the conversation appeared to be a casual one and not one intended to cause panic among the public. The Court proceeded to quash the case after opining that the continuation of such a criminal case against the petitioner, who is an Input Editor at OTV, was likely to have a chilling effect on press freedom."It is highly unlikely that this one conversation would somehow induce the public to avoid treatment for COVID, thus resulting in the spread of the pandemic and much less still induce the public to commit offences against the State. The Court is of the view that that the continuation of such criminal case against the Petitioner, who is an Input Editor of OTV is likely to have a chilling effect on press freedom," the order stated..The Court was dealing with a plea by the Input Editor of OTV to quash a criminal case on charges of criminal conspiracy and other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 52 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005..Back in August 2020, OTV had broadcast a conversation where one person, who claimed to have returned from a COVID hospital, made statements undermining the seriousness of the pandemic and suggested that it could be cured without treatment or medication. OTV also uploaded the conversation on YouTube and other social media platforms..After perusing the conversation, the Court noted that the conversation highlighted the importance of using masks and taking steps to prevent the spread of the pandemic, even though it is critical of some of the measures put in place by the government.It concluded that the offences alleged were not prima facie made out against the petitioner. As such, it quashed the case and allowed the petition. .The petitioner was represented by Senior Advocate Gautam Misra along with advocate Anupam Dash.The State authorities were represented by advocate Prasanna Kumar Mohanty..[Read Order]