The Editors Guild of India has demanded the immediate release of Kishore Ram, the Dalit journalist recently arrested by the Uttarakhand Police on charges of inciting and promoting caste-based violence.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Guild wrote that it is “deeply disturbed” by Ram’s arrest.

Ram was arrested on February 23 by the Pithoragarh police under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) of the Indian Penal Code.

Ram, who is a journalist working for a news portal named Janjwar, has been reporting on issues faced by members of marginalised communities for a considerable period of time.

The FIR was registered against Ram for his reporting on two separate incidents – one pertaining to the death of a scheduled caste (SC) youth on February 13 and the other on the rape of two SC girls on February 18. In both cases, the journalist had interviewed those who were acquainted with the victims as well as their family members. He had uploaded the videos of the interviews on the website.

The police have accused Ram of “asking for the caste identities of people” and discussing the “killing of people belonging to SC community by upper caste people.”

Recently, those associated with Ram mentioned that the police have arrested him under fake charges. Following his arrest, members of civil society and a group of journalists held a protest at Dehradun on Sunday, demanding his release. They also wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami urging the same.

Ajay Prakash, an editor at Janjwar, also told National Herald that crimes against members of the SC community are on the rise under the BJP regime in Uttarakhand. “Dalits are facing discrimination in every sphere of life. The Uttarakhand Police has arrested Ram for bringing out an inconvenient truth,” he added.

In its statement, the Editors Guild urged the state administration and the law enforcement agencies “to not use penal laws as tools of intimidation against journalists’ right to report on societal and caste-based issues.”

A Telangana court has directed The Wire to take down 14 articles published about Bharat Biotech International Limited and its Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, after the company filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against the publication.

The Additional District Judge at Ranga Reddy District Court also restrained The Wire from publishing any further defamatory articles on Bharat Biotech and Covaxin.

The suit names Foundation for Independent Journalism, the publisher of The Wire, its Editors Siddharth Varadarajan, Sidharth Roshanlal Bhatia, and MK Venu, and nine others who wrote articles about the company and its vaccine.

Bharat Biotech alleged that The Wire had published articles which contained false allegations against the company and its product with a “malicious” intent to undermine the reputation of the manufacturer. It further alleged that the news portal has published several articles with false accusations on the authorization approvals of the vaccine without verifying the facts.

Senior Counsel K Vivek Reddy, representing Bharat Biotech, noted that the company, which has previously developed vaccines for Tuberculosis, Zika Rotavirus, Chikungunya and Typhoid, has received national and global recognition and that it collaborated with leading Indian institutions to develop the vaccine.

Following the hearing on Wednesday, the court observed that despite the approval of the Government of India for Bharat Biotech’s vaccine, The Wire continued to publish articles about the company and its product.

The court also noted that Bharat Biotech is the only company which has been authorised to manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 15-18 and that the defamatory articles published on the website will lead to vaccine hesitancy. In view of this, the court directed the removal of the 14 articles and restrained The Wire from publishing any more similar reports on the company and its product.

Following the court’s order, Varadaranjan took to Twitter and said that the publisher was not served any notice nor given any chance to refute the allegations made by Bharat Biotech against the “14 deeply reported Covaxin stories” that were published over the course of a year. “Let me say this—BB’s (Bharat Biotech) bullying will not work,” he added.

As per The Wire, they came to know about the case and the order only from the Bar and Bench reportage.

“The Wire and its editors were not served any notice or intimated in any way about these proceedings. At no stage were we contacted by Bharat Biotech or its counsel. The Telangana court’s order, which we have learned about only through Bar and Bench, has been passed without giving The Wire an opportunity to be heard,” wrote the editors. 

They further said that they would legally challenge the order and “resist any attempt to curb freedom of the press.”

The United Nations, on Monday, called for an end to the judicial harassment of journalist Rana Ayyub and an investigation into the “relentless misogynistic and sectarian” online attacks on her.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued the statement based on the report of two experts: Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

Ayyub, an independent investigative journalist and woman human rights defender, “continues to be the victim of intensifying attacks and threats online by far-right Hindu nationalist groups,” the experts at the UN said.

They further added that these attacks are a result of Ayuub’s reportage on issues affecting minority Muslims in India, her criticism of the Union Government for its handling of the pandemic, and her comments on the recent ban on hijabs in schools and colleges in Karnataka. “In response to Ms Ayyub’s efforts to shine a light on public interest issues and hold power to account through her reporting, she has been maliciously targeted with anonymous death and rape threats by organised groups online,” said the statement.

Earlier this month, Ayyub had taken to Twitter to extend her gratitude to the Mumbai Cyber Crime Cell for making the first arrest over the rape and death threats issued to her through various social media platforms.

The report from the UN experts also added that Ayyub has been subjected to legal harassment from the Indian authorities for a number of years.

It further said that the lack of condemnation and proper investigation by the Government of India, “coupled with the legal harassment it has itself inflicted on Ms Ayyub, has only served to falsely legitimise the attacks and attackers and further endangered her safety.”

“It is imperative that the authorities take urgent measures to protect her from the onslaught of threats and hate online and end the investigation against her,” the statement concluded.

Responding to this, the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva (the official delegation representing India at the UN) called the allegations of harassment “baseless and unwarranted” and accused the UN of “advancing a misleading narrative.”

“Allegations of so-called judicial harassment are baseless and unwarranted. India upholds the rule of law, but is equally clear that no one is above the law. We expect SRs (Special Rapporteur) to be objective and accurately informed. Advancing a misleading narrative only tarnishes the UN’s reputation,” wrote India at UN, Geneva. 

It is notable that on February 10, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) froze Rs 1.77 crore belonging to Ayyub. The journalist’s assets were frozen by ED based on an FIR registered by the Uttar Pradesh police against her, in September 2021. The complaint was raised by one Vikas Sankrityayan, founder of an NGO called “Hindu IT Cell” and a resident of Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, who alleged that Ayyub had diverted large funds collected through Ketto, an online crowding platform, for relief work.

The police invoked sections of IPC, IT Act and also Section 4 of Black Money Act, alleging that she illegally acquired money from the public, in the name of charity.

The UN observed that this was the second time in six months that her bank accounts and other assets were frozen in response to “seemingly baseless allegations of money laundering and tax fraud, related to her crowd-funding campaigns to provide assistance to those affected by the pandemic.”

Meanwhile, The Washington Post, a leading international publication, ran a full-page statement expressing solidarity with Ayyub. “She has been the target of prejudiced investigations and online harassment,” wrote the newspaper, adding the hashtag #WeStandWithRana.

In a statement on Sunday, the Editors Guild of India said it had written to the Press Information Bureau of India (PIB) demanding the withdrawal of the newly-released Media Accreditation Guidelines.

The Guild has also urged the PIB to undertake meaningful consultation with all the stakeholders, in case it is intent on revising the guidelines.

Earlier this month, the PIB published the new ‘Central Media Accreditation Guidelines 2022’, which came into effect on February 1 and determine the accreditation of all journalists to access and report from the headquarters of the Government of India.

Under these new guidelines, a journalist’s accreditation will be withdrawn or suspended if they “act in a manner detrimental to the security, sovereignty and integrity of the country,” or to India’s “amicable relations with foreign states.” Further, if a journalist’s actions are “detrimental to public order, decency or morality” or they are involved in “contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence,” they may lose their accreditation.

The guidelines also state that a journalist “charged with a serious cognisable offence” would also lose accreditation.

The Guild, in its statement, pointed out that it is “bizarre that merely being charged has been mentioned as a ground for cancellation.”

“Worse still, concerned journalists have not been given an opportunity to be heard. Most surprisingly, ‘defamation’ has been included as a ground for cancellation,” the Guild further wrote.

The statement also pointed out that many of the criteria for cancellation are “vague and subjective.” The Guild added that this was especially concerning since no procedures have been set out and there is no mention of the adjudicating authority that will decide on suspension.

Further, the Guild wrote, “A new clause requiring police verification has been added without defining the contours of such verification. Since no standards have been prescribed, it can grant unfettered powers to the police for denying accreditation to journalists who may be seen as critical of the government.”

Calling the new guidelines “arbitrary, vague and draconian,” the Guild said that such clauses have been included with an “intent to restrict any critical and investigative reporting of the government affairs.”

In another more detailed letter addressed to Jaideep Bhatnagar, the Principal Director General, PIB, the Guild has also expressed its surprise over the lack of consultation with press organisations and media bodies before issuing the new guidelines.

“This is arbitrary and violates due process of the law for the following reasons: (i) it does not provide for an adjudicating authority to decide on suspension, (ii) lacks procedural safeguards of right of hearing, recording of reasons, provision of appeal, etc; and (iii) is a disproportionate and uncalled for punishment for actions that already have existing remedies in law,” the letter stated.

Previously, on February 11, five media bodies had also written to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur, regarding the same issue.

A court in the Shopian district of south Kashmir has issued an arrest warrant against journalist-author Gowhar Geelani, following his non-appearance after being served a notice.

On Thursday, the executive magistrate directed the Station House Officer (SHO) at Heepora in Shopian to produce Geelani before the court by Saturday “in order to maintain peace and public tranquillity.”

Gowhar, author of Kashmir: Rage and Reason, works for publications such as BBC, Deutsche Welle, Telegraph and The Federal. He is a vocal critic of the state government and its policies.

On February 1, a complaint was received by the police stating that Gowhar had acted against public interest when he shared information on social media about a policeman being injured by a militant attack in Shopian.

Following this, Geelani was served a notice on February 3, stating that he was booked under Section 107 of the CrPC. According to this section, an executive magistrate can require a person to show cause why they should not be ordered to execute a bond if the magistrate receives information that the person is likely to commit a breach of peace or disturb public tranquillity.

Geelani was also summoned to appear before the court on February 7 regarding this charge.

“You have disseminated information on social media that would have endangered the life of the injured individual and other persons. Besides, circulation of your information has raised serious security and breach of peace concerns,” the court stated.

When the journalist failed to appear before the court, the arrest warrant was issued against him by the magistrate. Moreover, the arrest warrant against Geelani also stated that he was booked under Section 151 of the CrPC, under which an individual can be placed in detention indefinitely. The previous notice had only mentioned Section 107, according to The Wire.

Earlier, in 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Police had booked Geelani under the UAPA for “indulging in unlawful activities through his posts and writings on social media platforms which are prejudicial to the national integrity, sovereignty and security of India.”

Geelani is the third journalist to be booked in 2022 in Kashmir over social media posts, after Fahad Shah, editor of Kashmir Walla, who was arrested in February, and Sajad Gul in January.

Earlier this week, 58 human rights organisations and media outlets, including the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Press Club of India, wrote a joint open letter to the territory’s New Delhi-appointed lieutenant governor, calling for the immediate release of Shah, as well as other detained Kashmiri journalists such as Gul. The letter also called for an end to the policy of systematic censorship implemented in the region.

The Government of India said on Tuesday that it does not agree with the country’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders. India ranked 142nd out of 180 in the index in both 2020 and 2021, down from the 140th place in 2019.

GOI pointed out that the publisher of the rankings is a foreign non-government organisation and said it therefore does not subscribe to its views. The union government further questioned the methodology used by the NGO for drawing its conclusions, citing reasons such as “a very low sample size, little or no weightage to fundamentals of democracy, adoption of a methodology which is questionable and non-transparent, lack of clear definition of press freedom, etc.”

This came as a response from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the questions raised by MP Manish Tiwari in Parliament.

The two questions Tiwari raised were whether the journalists in Kashmir and the whole of India are frequently penalised by State agencies under the Indian Penal Code, UAPA and other penal laws; and whether it is due to such abhorrent coercion that India holds a poor 142nd position in the World Press Freedom Index. 

“The government is committed to ensure the right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined under the Article 19 of the Constitution of India,” replied Minister of State Nityanand Rai, who also noted that GOI does not subscribe to the views and country rankings of Reporters Without Borders.

He further mentioned that a statutory autonomous body, Press Council of India (PCI), has been set up under the Press Council Act, 1978 “mainly to preserve the freedom of the Press and improve the standards of newspapers and news agencies in the country.”

“PCI considers complaints filed by the Press concerning curtailment of press freedom, physical assault/attack on journalists etc. PCI is also empowered to take suo-motu cognizance in matters on the pressing issues concerning freedom of press and safeguarding of its high standards. Such complaints are processed under Section 13 of the Press Council Act, 1978 and provisions of the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979,” Rai added. 

It is notable that recently, in November 2021, the Press Club of India expressed disappointment over the media not being allowed to enter the Parliament to cover the Winter Session 2021 and termed it “blatant censorship.”

Earlier, in October 2021, several journalists were booked and detained under the stringent UAPA for reporting on the communal violence in Tripura. Following this, the Editors Guild of India sent a three-member fact finding team to Agartala noting that it was “concerned by the reports of draconian criminal laws being used to prevent media from reporting on acts of violence in the state of Tripura.”

Before that, in March, the Editors Guild had expressed concern over freedom of press in the country, following the issue of the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

Tiwari also brought up the issue of the recent hostile takeover of the Kashmir Press Club. The KPC was shut down days after this incident.

Rai said, “Presently, there is no registered body by the name of ‘Kashmir Press Club’ or its elected managing body since Kashmir Press Club, as a registered body, has ceased to exist and has failed to register itself under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Estates Department has taken over the government building on January 17 in the presence of Executive Magistrate, Srinagar. The government building has deployment of static guard for its protection.”

Several press organisations, however, have condemned this move and urged the restoration of the KPC’s registration. “With the shutting down of the club and government reverting the land back to the Estates Department, an important journalistic institution in a region that has seen the worst kind of state heavy handedness against any independent media, has been effectively dismantled,” said the Editors Guild.