On July 29, The Editors’ Guild of India addressed a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, expressing serious concerns over the misuse of the newly introduced criminal laws against journalists and the expanding powers. The letter highlighted the increasing use of criminal code provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 [BNSS], which have replaced the Indian Penal Code 1860 and Criminal Procedure Code 1973. The letter specifically highlights the provocating speech laws that have been used historically to target journalists whose reporting has been critical of governing establishments, especially when it came to liberally using Sections 153A and B, 295A, 298, 502, and 505 of the IPC against the journalists.
The letter states “Over the years and under successive governments, many provisions under the criminal code, the so-called offensive speech laws in IPC- sections 153A and B, 295A, 298, 502, and 505, have been liberally used to file FIRs against journalists whose reporting has been critical of governing establishment. This has been done by governments across states and party lines.”
It further said that “In some cases, journalists have been imprisoned for long durations, as the cases have moved at a snail’s pace in courts, and in others, while there may not have been an arrest, yet the process of defending against frivolous complaints has itself become a punishment.”
The letter further points to the various amendments and laws that have been introduced between the year 2019 to 2023, through which the Modi-led government has enacted several laws that significantly broaden the scope of criminal regulations and expanded police powers of arrest, thereby further restricting civil liberties. The letter specifically cites amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act, 2010, and the introduction of the Criminal Procedure Identification Act, 2022, as examples of laws that are being used to target journalists critical of the government.
The letter points out that these laws have been exploited to harass and intimidate journalists, creating a chilling effect on press freedom. The organisation has called for a more rigorous review process before filing FIRs against journalists. They propose that any complaint against media professionals be reviewed by a high-ranking police officer and brought to the attention of the Press Council of India.
Calling for journalistic exception, the letter provides that “We also are of the opinion that given the precedent in the manner in which criminal laws have been used as tools of harassment and intimidation against journalists, with a potential of setting a chilling effect, there is a legitimate case for a journalistic exception in the registration of FIRs. Far too often we have seen that process is the punishment and that there is a case for protecting members of the press/media from frivolous criminal complaints and indiscriminate state/police action in relation to acts done in the course of their duty. And we re-iterate, this has been the case under governments across party lines. Therefore, we strongly feel that before a criminal complaint is registered as an FIR against a journalist, with a reference to a journalistic work done by them, there be an additional and thorough layer of review.”
Furthermore, the letter underscores a need for holding a deep consultation with the journalists as well as formulation of some set of guidelines for regulating prosecutions against members of the press/media for actions in the course of their duty. Till then, a mechanism has also been proposed by the EGI whereby any such complaint against a member of press is reviewed by a high-ranking Police Officer, and that it is brought to the knowledge of Press Council of India, for an opinion on whether further investigation of the complaint/information would be an unreasonable burden on the freedom of profession and freedom of expression of the alleged offender as a member of the press. According to the letter, such set of guidelines can go a long way in preventing the misuse of these laws against journalistic activities.
The letter includes an Annexure on specific provisions of laws under the BNS and the BNSS against which the EGI has raised concerns. These provisions include Section 152 (Treason), Section 197 (Imputations Prejudicial to National Integration), Sections 111-112 (Organised Crime), and Section 113 (Terrorism) of the BNS. Along with each section, the letter provides the issues associated with the said provision and the ways the same can be misused against journalists and clamp down on personal liberties.
In regarding to the BNSS, procedural provisions governing arrest and bail, powers of search and seizure, and attachment and confiscation of proceeds of crime have been highlighted in the letter.
The complete letter can be viewed as follows:
Related:
CJP moves UP Police against the communal and hate-spewing speeches