India, Sept. 10 -- The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench on Wednesday stayed further proceedings pursuant to an FIR lodged against a journalist who had reported alleged deficiencies at a government school here, observing that the police action appeared to be retaliatory.

A bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava also said lodging an FIR against a journalist after he brought deficiencies in a government school to public notice was akin to "killing the messenger".

The order was passed on a petition filed by journalist Amit Yadav, against whom an FIR was lodged at Gosainiganj police station in Lucknow.

According to Yadav's counsel, the journalist had visited the Upper Primary School at Begariamau in Gosainiganj ...