Breather for Arundhati Roy as SC stays criminal contempt proceedings against her

New Delhi: Author Arundhati Roy on Monday got relief from the Supreme Court when it stayed criminal contempt proceedings against her in the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court.

The Bombay HC in December 2015 issued criminal contempt notice against Roy for writing an article in an English magazine on the arrest of Delhi University professor G N Saibaba and the rejection of his bail plea earlier in 2015.

The HC had initiated criminal contempt after stating that Roy appeared to believe that she was "above the law".

Saibaba was arrested in 2014 by the Gadchiroli police for his alleged links with Maoists.

Reportedly, Roy termed her words in the article as "nasty", the court observed "Calling the government and police as being 'afraid' of the applicant, 'abductor' and 'thief', and the magistrate from a 'small town', demonstrate the surly, rude and boorish attitude of the author in a most tolerant country like India."