New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday (October 14) extended its protection from arrest to independent journalist Abhishek Upadhyay in a road rage case and other FIRs, directing that he should not be arrested until further notice, the Hindu reported.A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi made absolute its interim orders issued on August 25 and September 7. The earlier orders had stayed Upadhyay’s arrest and directed him to cooperate with the investigation, respectively.Upadhyay had published investigative online reports alleging the misappropriation and theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple. The court also stayed a police notice asking Upadhyay to hand over his digital devices. It noted that he had received a copy of the road rage FIR.The bench said Upadhyay could challenge the FIR on any grounds, clarifying that it had expressed no opinion on the merits of the case.Upadhyay had alleged that the road rage case was filed against him in response to his online reports about the temple, The Wire has previously reported. In a post on X on August 21, Upadhyay alleged that police personnel had visited his residence and questioned his family members. He said the visits were part of a continuing pattern of harassment against him. In a subsequent post, Upadhyay questioned the Ghaziabad police over what he said was its failure to provide him with a copy of the FIR registered against him. Upadhyay has asked whether this was being done deliberately to prevent him from knowing the charges under which police personnel had come looking for him at his residence late at night.The Supreme Court has allowed Upadhyay to file a separate petition seeking guidelines to safeguard digital privacy and journalistic freedoms, the Hindu reported.