The Allahabad High Court has barred the media from reporting the proceedings of the 2007 Gorakhpur hate speech case, in which the prime accused is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath.

In its order dated November 7, the court said that Additional Advocate General Manish Goel had pointed out that the media had indulged in “wrong reporting” of the daily proceedings in the hate speech case, which has caused “a lot of embarrassment” to the state. The high court said the state counsel had argued that the media had often reported the bench’s observations “out of context” and “often misquoted”.

The court said it had examined several media reports presented by Goel, and ruled that “no one shall publish or cause to be published any proceedings of this case till the delivery of the judgement”.

Uttar Pradesh Advocate General Raghvendra Singh refused to comment on the state’s submission that led to the court order, The Indian Express reported.

The case so far

The case dates back to January 2007, when riots broke out in Gorakhpur and nearby areas. After an incident involving the alleged harassment of women, followed by clashes, police imposed section 144 preventing people from gathering in the town. Violating these orders, Adityanath delivered a speech outside Gorakhpur railway station that was caught on tape.

The Allahabad High Court is hearing a petition filed by Parvez Parvaz, who had challenged the UP government’s refusal to permit Adityanath and four others to be prosecuted. In August, the court had allowed the petitioners to challenge the UP government’s refusal to permit Adityanath’s prosecution.

The court then asked the state government to submit diaries and other original records of the investigation into the case. It also directed the state to file a submission about its refusal to allow prosecution of Adityanath.