Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted unconditional bail to Santu Pan, the TV journalist who had been arrested on Monday on charges of outraging the modesty of a woman in Sandeshkhali.

Pan, a resident of Goghat in Hooghly, was picked up from a boat near Dhamakhali in North 24-Parganas while he was reporting live for his channel Republic Bangla.

Justice Kaushik Chanda also stayed all proceedings drawn against Pan till further order.

Appearing for the channel, prominent counsel Mahesh Jethmalani claimed the charges against Pan were baseless and false. “The journalist was arrested for covering the truth behind the villagers’ anguish against the ruling party leaders, including Sheikh Shahjahan. The vindictive government wants to threaten all media by arresting a bold journalist,” said Jethmalani.

The state government’s counsel opposed the prayer for the bail.

Justice Chanda, while awarding bail to Pan, said: “The police have failed to arrest the actual culprit. But they went after an innocent journalist.”

Jethmalani also pointed out a “false” FIR had been lodged against Suman De, senior vice-president of ABP Ananda. De, too, moved the high court and his petition might be heard by Justice Chanda on Friday.