Supreme Court Stays Further Proceedings In FIRs Registered Against HW Networks Journalists Mehal Jain 8 Dec 2021
The bench headed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud also stayed all further proceedings pursuant to the FIRs dated 14.11.2021 and 18.11.2021.
The petitioners argue that the FIRs amount to "targeted harassment of press". "If the State is allowed to criminalize the very act of fact-finding and unbiased reporting then the only facts that will come in the public domain are those that are convenient to the State due to the 'chilling effect on the freedom of speech and expression of members of civil society. If the quest for truth and reporting thereo itself is criminalized then the victim in the process is the idea of justice"
SC stays probe against HW News journalists over Tripura violence reports https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/12/08/sc-stays-probe-against-hw-news-journalists-over-tripura-violence-reports
The journalists had reported on a mosque being burned down during the violence that erupted after a VHP rally on October 26. Tripura police had then claimed they were “maligning” the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the BJP-led state government”. They were granted bail by the Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Gomati district on November 15.
In a statement, the Editors Guild of India had noted that the police action against Singh and others was an “extremely disturbing trend” where a “harsh law...is being used for merely reporting on and protesting against communal violence”.
“The Guild is of the opinion that this is an attempt by the state government to deflect attention away from its own failure to control majoritarian violence, as well as to take action against the perpetrators of this.”
Reporter’s diary: Tripura government’s allergic reaction to journalism Ayush Tiwari 27 Nov, 2021 https://www.newslaundry.com/2021/12/08/2021/11/27/reporters-diary-tripura-governments-allergic-reaction-to-journalism
The state used police to prevent the ‘negative’ word about the violence from getting out. To this end, journalists, civil society members and even locals faced intimidation, interrogations and arrests.
That evening, Nath, the area’s sub divisional police officer, or SDPO, intercepted me again near the charred mosque. “Only positive, huh?” he said, exceeding his authority once again. “I don’t want the peace here to be spoilt by negative things.” ..
The Tripura police’s high-handedness went beyond journalists. Civil society members – dubbed the “new frontiers of war” by national security advisor Ajit Doval – faced the wrath too. On November 3, it booked two advocates from Delhi, Ansar Indori and Mukesh, under section 13 of the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, for their social media posts on the violence .
