Supreme Court stays contempt proceedings against Arundhati Roy

New Delhi: Supreme Court today stayed the criminal contempt proceedings against noted writer and social activist, Arundhati Roy, in connection with her article supporting former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba. A bench of the Apex Court, headed by Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, stayed the criminal contempt proceedings against noted writer Roy. "We stay the criminal contempt proceedings against Arundhati Roy till further hearing of the case," the bench of the Apex Court said today in its order. The case was being heard by the Nagpur bench of the high court.

In 2015, the Bombay High Court had issued a contempt criminal notice against Roy for criticizing its decision to reject Saibaba's bail plea. In an article published by the Outlook, Roy expressed reservations on his arrest too. Justice Choudhari of the Nagpur bench had issued a notice to writer Roy on an intervention plea filed by advocate Bhandarkar, who had blamed Roy for "interference with the administration of justice" for writing an article in the Outlook magazine. Saibaba was arrested in 2014 by the Maharashtra police for his alleged links with Maoists. He was awarded life imprisonment along with five others for his links with Maoists, under the Unlawful Prevention of Atrocities Act (UAPA) in March 2017. (UNI)