JUDGMENT :

CHANDRA DHARI SINGH, J.

1. Objection filed by the State is taken on record.

2. This bail application has been taken up today through Video Conferencing.

3. The instant application under Section 438 Cr.P.C. has been filed with a prayer for anticipatory bail of the accused-applicant who is involved in FIR No. 268 of 2020, under Sections 188 and 505(2) IPC, Police Station Kotwali Nagar, District Ayodhya.

4. Brief facts of the case are that the applicant is editor of online news portal “The Wire.” As per the prosecution story, the complainant had lodged the FIR on 01.04.2020 in the aforementioned sections alleging therein that the applicant had made a tweet on website Twitter.com which was allegedly defamatory towards the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. The said FIR was lodged on the report published by “The Wire” on 31.03.2020 titled as “Covid-19 Cases Spike in Nizzamuddin Nehru Stadium in Delhi to Become Quarantine Centre” which was also tweeted by the applicant on 31.03.2020 and 01.04.2020. Relevant portion of the tweet is reproduced herein-below:-

“On the day the Tablighi Jamaat event was held. Yogi Adityanath insisted that a large fair planned for Ayodhya on the occasion of