EGI writes to Home Minister, expresses concern over new Criminal Laws

Srinagar, July 30: Editors Guild of India (EGI) - an apex body of representing senior editors in the country on Tuesday expressed concern over newly introduced Criminal Laws across, saying it will likely ‘impact’ press freedom and journalistic work in the country.

In a letter written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the EGI has said that since the inception of body in 1978, the EGI has been steadfast in its mission to uphold and protect the freedom of press, a cornerstone of our democracy.

The content of the letter is here:

As you are well aware, freedom of the press is a facet of the fundamental right of free speech and expression which is protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. The members of the press have a duty to inform the citizenry and the press acts in the capacity of a trustee or surrogate of the public, as the “eyes and ears of the citizenry”. A free press is the hallmark of a democracy and deserves to be shielded from frivolous prosecution for acts done in the course of their duty.

We are writing to bring to your notice, a long standing concern of ours, with respect to the manner in which criminal laws have been used against journalists, as tools to intimidate and harass them.

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. Journalists, as part of their professional duty, are meant to report on sensitive issues, throw light on uncomfortable facts, and speak truth to power. They literally have to play with fire as part of their professional work.

And therefore, it has become a norm under several governments, both at centre and in states, and across party lines, to have criminal complaints filed against journalists by seemingly nonstage agents, but who are acting with full support of the state machinery, and those complaints are readily registered as an FIR, with a possibility of arrest. 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.

We are now writing to you in the context of the new criminal laws, which were notified earlier in the month, and which we feel further expands the powers of law enforcement agencies.

As it is, between 2019 and 2023, a slew of legislation has been passed by Parliament dramatically expanding the reach of criminal laws by way of amendments to existing laws or by way of introducing new statutes outright. Expansion of substantive criminal law has often been accompanied by procedures designed to expand police powers and truncate civil liberties. Examples include the amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 [PMLA]; the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 [UAPA]; the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act 2010 [FCRA], and; the introduction of the Criminal Procedure Identification Act 2022 [CPIA].

Now, with the notification of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 [BNS] and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 [BNSS] to replace the Indian Penal Code 1860 and Criminal Procedure Code 1973, respectively, we feel there is even greater cause of concern.

We are attaching a note with this letter to highlight some important points of concern with the new laws. The reason we are specifically raising these is because we fear all these provisions can be potentially used against journalists, as has been the case in the past under IPC as well as Cr.P.C. The Guild urges a thorough review of these criminal laws from this perspective. We suggest substantive consultation with organisations like ours in this regard.

A case for journalistic exception

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. It is our strong belief that there is a need for a deep consultation and formulation of some set of guidelines for regulating prosecutions against members of the press/media for actions in the course of their duty. While this will require a detailed review, we would like to propose a mechanism 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. We feel some such set of guidelines can go a long way in preventing the misuse of these laws against journalistic activities.

Respected Sir, we seek an engagement and dialogue with you and the Home Ministry, for driving a constructive conversation around these important issues, as the provisions of the new Criminal Laws can pose grave danger to freedom of press.

We look forward to receiving a response from you.