{
  "id": 18288596,
  "title": "Chennai Press Club president and two other journalists move Madras High Court seeking anticipatory bail",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/chennai-press-club-president-and-two-other-journalists-move-madras",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-05T10:25:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu",
    "slug": "the-hindu",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/chennai-press-club-president-and-two-other-journalists-move-madras-high-court-seeking-anticipatory-bail/article71640943.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In Chennai, the president of the Chennai Press Club, M. Suresh Vedhanayagam, along with journalists D. Prakash and S. Sarath Kumar, have sought anticipatory bail in a criminal case initiated by the Vepery police. They accuse the three journalists of sharing false information on WhatsApp groups, claiming that a police inspector attempted to extort ₹5 lakh from him. The petition was filed by N. Ravichandran, a crime reporter from a private Tamil news television channel, who lodged the complaint.\n\nAnticipatory bail was granted by the Madras High Court to Vedhanayagam, Prakash, and Sarath Kumar. Justice N. Ramesh postponed the hearing to November 2, 2026, as the prosecution needed more time to file a counter affidavit. The judge expressed disappointment in journalism, stating that the behavior of those in positions of authority within associations has reached an unfortunate level.\n\nVedhanayagam, who has been a journalist since 1996 and served as a Chief Reporter for the past 15 years, claimed that he maintains a good reputation and sincerity in his profession. He was elected as the president of the Chennai Press Club by several journalists, which he considered a testament to his character. Vedhanayagam argued that a false complaint was lodged against him, and if anticipatory bail was not granted, his reputation among friends and family would be tarnished, and his career would suffer greatly.",
  "summary": "They apprehend arrest by the city police in a case registered on the basis of a defamation complaint lodged by a fellow journalist",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}