Why Supreme Court refused relief to journalists who alleged assault, threat to life from MP Police

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to pass any interim order in favour of two Madhya Pradesh-based journalists who have alleged custodial violence, caste-based abuse and ongoing threat to life from Bhind police, including the Superintendent of Police (SP) Asit Yadav [Shashikant Jatav @ Shashikant Goyal & Anr v. State of Madhya Pradesh]..A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma said that unless the Court is made aware of the exact nature of the crime attributed to the two journalists, Shashikant Jatav and Amarkant Singh Chouhan, it cannot pass any interim order granting protection from arrest to the two."Suppose you commit a crime like murder, can we grant you no coercive protection order? We have to know what kind of crime police is alleging," Justice Sharma said."You should have told us that you approached Delhi High Court already. The story that you created last day.. it has not come across in the petition. You have said you have threat to your life day in and day out," Justice Karol added..Advocate Warisha Farasat, appearing for the petitioners, said that Delhi High Court does not have the jurisdiction to deal with the matter since it stems from Madhya Pradesh."We appreciate you are the fourth pillar. But you have to show the apprehension borne out of the record. What prevents you from going to Madhya Pradesh High Court? What prevents you from going to Delhi High court which is sitting during vacations?" the Bench persisted.The Court also highlighted that Superintendent of Police Asit Yadav, against whom the allegations have been made, has not been added as a party to the plea."It is very easy to make allegations against an IPS officer and keep making allegations in black and white," Justice Sharma remarked."If you can protect me till Monday from arrest," Farasat requested. "Suppose you are guilty of murder, what do we do? We need to see what's against you. Sorry we cannot protect you now," the Bench said.It then issued notice to the State and posted the case for further consideration on June 9..The writ petition was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India seeking urgent protection for the two journalists.Jatav and Chouhan alleged that they were kidnapped, assaulted in custody and subjected to casteist abuse by SP Yadav and his subordinates. The incident occurred on May 1 after the journalists reported on illegal sand mining activities in the Chambal river region, allegedly carried out by the sand mafia with police connivance, as per the plea..The journalists alleged that were summoned under the guise of having tea with the SP but upon entering his chambers, they discovered several other journalists stripped to their undergarments and allegedly assaulted. According to the petition, Shashikant Jatav, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste ‘Jatav’ community, was subjected to casteist slurs and beaten with slippers on the instructions of SP Yadav..The plea stated that the journalists cannot safely approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court since they and their families continue to face threats and harassment from Bhind police. .Advocates Warisha Farasat, Tamanna Pankaj, Priya Vats, Aman Naqvi, Anirudh Ramanathan and Shivanjali Bhalerao appeared for the petitioners..[Read Live Coverage]