A Gujarat sessions court has granted bail to journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case filed against him by the Adani Group, Bar and Bench reported.

Nair, who was convicted in the case earlier this year, was released on bail during the pendency of his appeal, but was again taken into custody on September 17 following the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him for allegedly not appearing before the appellate court.

This comes a day after the Gujarat High Court refused to grant him any interim relief on his petition challenging a non-bailable warrant. He had separately moved the sessions court for regular bail. He also approached the Supreme Court seeking release from prison.

Principal and District Sessions Judge at Gandhinagar Ashish JS Malhotra on Thursday allowed his bail plea.

Nair, a contributor to adaniwatch.org, was convicted of defamation by a Judicial Magistrate First Class in Gandhinagar in February over a series of tweets and articles accusing the Adani Group of corruption, crony capitalism and misuse of government agencies. He was sentenced to a year’s simple imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000. The sessions court later suspended his sentence and released him on bail while he appealed the conviction, on conditions including regular court appearances and surrendering his passport.

Several press associations have condemned the arrest.

DIGIPUB described Nair’s continued detention as “deeply disturbing” and said it stems from his reporting and posts about the Adani Group. It built its objection around one fundamental question: “If an appeal is still pending, why should a journalist be kept behind bars before the final outcome of that appeal?”

The Press Club of India urged authorities in Gujarat to release Nair. 

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