Delhi-based journalist and commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, who was arrested for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the Sun Temple in Konark, was on Wednesday granted bail by Orissa High Court.
Iyer-Mitra was in judicial custody since October and was lodged at Jharpada Jail in Bhubaneswar. He was arrested by the Odisha Police from Delhi on October 23.
On Tuesday, the Odisha government decided to drop all charges against him. The special secretary to the Odisha government in a press release said that following Iyer-Mitra's representation to withdraw the cases against him, the government has decided to drop the charges.
The decision came following Mitra's appeal to the Government of Odisha "to consider withholding sanction to prosecute him in certain criminal cases pending against him", the press release said.
Advertisement
The Odisha government headed by Naveen Patnaik had in recent weeks come in for severe criticism for jailing Iyer-Mitra.
In November, the Odisha Assembly passed a motion to forgive Mitra on the recommendation of the House Committee of the Assembly, which was formed to investigate the matter.
Earlier, Mitra wrote an apology letter to the House Committee and Assembly Speaker Pradeep Amat over his derogatory remarks.
On September 16, Mitra during a visit to the Konark Temple posted a satirical video on Twitter in which he made derogatory remarks insulting Odisha, its culture, tradition and state legislators. He had said his remarks were meant to be just a satire.
