Hyderabad, Aug. 14 -- In a relief to the online news organisation, The Wire, the Supreme Court granted interim protection to its editor-in-chief and veteran journalist Siddharth Varadarajan against "any coercive action" in connection with an FIR filed in Assam over a report on the alleged loss of an IAF aircraft during Operation Sindoor.

Varadarajan and his team were booked under multiple offences, including Section 152 of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which replaces the colonial sedition law and carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The provision penalises any "act endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India." The FIR, registered at Morigaon police station on July 11, stems from an article p...