Orissa High Court grants bail to Abhijit Iyer-Mitra day after state govt pardons journalist for 'derogatory' comments

The Orissa High Court on Wednesday granted bail to journalist and defence expert Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, who was arrested in September for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Konark Sun Temple and offending the sentiments of the people of Odisha.

Iyer-Mitra has been in judicial custody since 24 October and lodged at the Jharpada Jail in Bhubaneswar.The high court relief comes a day after the Odisha government on Tuesday decided to grant pardon to Iyer-Mitra. He was admitted to a hospital in the city on Sunday after complaining of stomach pain. According to The National Herald, he was under severe mental trauma and was ailing since Friday.Iyer-Mitra courted controversy over a video he posted in September on his Twitter account, in which he "criticised Odisha, its people, Lord Jagannath, the Konark temple and also Odisha lawmakers".The journalist had written to the House Committee and Speaker of the Odisha Assembly and had tendered an unconditional apology for his comments.He was arrested on 20 September for the "derogatory" comments he made in the video on Twitter. The Commissionerate Police interrogated Iyer-Mitra for hours at an undisclosed location in Bhubaneswar.One Manoranjan Mohanty had lodged a complaint against Iyer-Mitra on 20 September for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the people of Odisha. The journalist was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of the FIR filed at the Saheed Nagar Police Station in Bhubaneswar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Zone-5) Kishore Mund said.