No coercive action against Rai till April 4, says MP high court

Bhopal/Jabalpur: Madhya Pradesh high court on Friday ordered a stay on any coercive action against whistleblower Dr Anand Rai till April 4 when his petition for quashing of an FIR registered against him will be heard by the court.
An FIR against Dr Rai and Congress leader K K Mishra was registered at AJAKS police station in Bhopal following a complaint by an official of the CM secretariat, Laxman Singh Markam, who alleged that fabricated screenshots of his mobile phone had been made viral.
The screenshots related to the allegedly leaked paper of Teachers' Eligibility Test (grade-3) conducted by Vyapam, now known as MP Staff Selection Board.
Rai has called it a “conspiracy” to silence them for raising their voice for the rights of unemployed youth. When Dr Rai’s petition came up for hearing before the bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat, lawyers for the state government sought an adjournment of hearing and listing of the case on April 4.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Dr Rai, however, argued that the state government is pressing for Rai’s arrest and in view of this, interim relief be granted to the petitioner so that no coercive action is taken against him till April 4. The court accepted the plea and said no coercive action should be taken against Dr Rai till the next hearing.