Guwahati, Aug. 25 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Uttar Pradesh Police to refrain from taking coercive action against independent journalist Abhishek Upadhyay in a road-rage case, granting him interim protection amid his allegations of harassment over his reporting on the alleged misappropriation of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant also directed the Ghaziabad Police Commissioner to provide Upadhyay copies of the FIR and CCTV footage related to the case and file a compliance report before the court on September 7.

Senior advocate Pradeep Rai, appearing for Upadhyay, told the court that his client had committed the "unpardonable sin of exposing the Ram Man...