‘Toolkit’ case: Delhi Police deny leaking any material to media

New Delhi, Feb 19: Delhi Police on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it has not leaked any information to the media in relation to its probe in the FIR against climate activist Disha Ravi for her alleged involvement in sharing a toolkit backing the ongoing farmers' protest.

The petition filed by Ravi argues that leakage of her private WhatsApp chats, as well as alleged admissions and disclosures by her during her time in police custody has led to the subsequent biased media reportage about her.

Ravi said she is "severely aggrieved and prejudiced by the media trial surrounding her arrest and the ongoing investigation, where she is being viscerally attacked by the respondent 1 (police) and several media houses".

Her petition has alleged that investigative matters have been leaked to the media and the press briefings by the police are "prejudicial" and "grossly violative of her right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence".

"The illegal actions and omissions on part of the respondents has irrevocably violated the petitioner's fundamental right to privacy, her right to reputation, her dignity, and the consequent effect of the administration of justice and right to fair trial," the petition has said.

It has claimed that the police first "leaked investigative material" - like alleged WhatsApp chats - the substance and details of which were only in the possession of the investigating agency.

Thereafter, the "private alleged WhatsApp chats" were publicised and disseminated by various media houses which was a violation of the provisions of the Cable Televisions Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (CTN Act), the Programme Code and the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, the petition has contended.

It has also claimed that the "media houses have published one-sided defamatory, suggestive innuendos, and half truths about the petitioner".

Delhi Police, probing the "toolkit Google doc" backing the farmers' agitation shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg, had arrested Ravi while Mumbai lawyer Jacob and Pune engineer Shantanu Muluk have been granted pre-arrest bail by court.