Behind Bars- Arrests of Journalists in India 2010-20...[BEHIND BARS: ARREST AND DETENTION OF JOURNALISTS 2010-20] 3 3 In 2020, three journalists were killed due to their professional

JournalistSiddiqueKappan(incap)broughttocourtinMathura,UttarPradesh(Picturecourtesy:PTI).

Ananalysisofadecadeofsummons,detentions,arrests,interrogationsandshow-casenoticesagainstjournalists

By

GeetaSeshu

FreeSpeechCollective

BEHINDBARS

ArrestandDetentionofJournalistsinIndia2010-20

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IntroductionTheyear2020hasbeenabadonefor journalists inIndia.TheCovid-19pandemichas caused illnessanddeath, and the lockdownresulted in salarycutsand lossoflivelihood due to mass retrenchments effected by media houses. The killing andattacks on journalists have continued unabated. While self-censorship within themediaremainedanopensecret,thegovernmentsoughttoincreaseregulationofthemedia, with media policies, funding and administrative mechanisms for onlinemedia.AsharpriseincriminalcaseslodgedagainstjournalistsinIndiafortheirwork,withamajorityof cases inBJP-ruled states, has contributed to thedeterioration in theclimate for free speech in India. In the last decade, 154 journalists in Indiawerearrested,detained,interrogatedorservedshowcausenoticesfortheirprofessionalwork and a little over 40 per cent of these instances were in 2020. Nine foreignjournalistsfaceddeportation,arrest,interrogationsorweredeniedentryintoIndia.Apart from cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), ‘terror’relatedchargesandseditionhavealsobeenincreasinglyappliedagainstjournalists.Three journalists are in custody under various sections of the Unlawful Activities(Prevention)Act,1967(UAPA),oneofthembeingconvictedwithlifeimprisonment.In 2020, given the lockdown due to the pandemic, sections of the DisasterManagementAct andEpidemicDiseasesAct, alongwith prohibitory orders underSec144oftheCriminalProcedureCode(CrPC)havealsobeenincreasinglyappliedagainstjournalists.Along with the already prevailing impunity for crimes against journalists, theseinstancesclampdownon the flowof informationandhavea chillingeffecton thefreedomofthemediainIndia.Politicians and corporate houses have filed criminal defamation cases seekingdamages in crores and SLAPP suits while there are gags on media coverage ofsensitive cases. The number of criminal defamation cases filed against mediapersons and its chilling effects due to the harassment of prolonged courtproceedingswouldrequireanotherstudyaltogether.But there is a worrying increase in using contempt charges to curb freedom ofexpression. The Supreme Court of India initiated contempt proceedings againstcomedian Kunal Kamra and ‘Sanitary Panels’ comic strip creator Rachita Taneja.Contentontheonlineplatformsistakendown,oftenatthebehestofgovernmentorthepolice.India’s ranking has been slipping steadily in various national and internationalindices on safety of journalists, freedom of expression and human rights. StudieshaveshownthatIndia’srateofconvictionondeathsof journalists--over30since2010-- ispathetic,withjustthreeconvictions.Physicalattacksonjournalistshaveincreased,withatleast198seriousattacksbetween2014-19,including36in2019alone.

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In 2020, three journalistswere killed due to their professionalwork. On June 24,journalistShubhamManiTripathiwasshotbyunidentifiedpersonsinUnnao,UttarPradesh, inretaliation forhis reportsonsandmining in thearea;onNovember8,journalist Isravel Moses of Thamizhan TV was hacked to death by alleged drugdealers;onNovember27,RashtriyaSwaroopjournalistRakeshSingh‘Nirbhik’,diedwhenhishousewassetonfireinBalrampur,UttarPradesh.Inotherinstances,thereisnoclarityasyetaboutwhetherthedeathswererelatedto their work. Police investigations are still inconclusive over the death of ParagBhuyan,journalistsofPratidinTime,anAssamesetelevisionchannelina‘hit-n-run’,onNovember13atKakopathar,Assam.Attacks on journalists, including the horrific hounding and assault on Caravanjournalists Shahid Tantray, Prabhjit Singh and awoman journalist in the nationalcapital in Delhi on Aug 11, continue unabated. In this instance, despite lodgingofficial complaints, police failed to register an FIR. Other cases, shrouded inimpunity, are poorly investigated. The nexus between law-enforcing agencies, thelocal administration and local business and political interests have ensured thatjusticeremainselusive.At the beginning of the year, India’s Union Minister for Information andBroadcasting Minister Prakash Jawadekar debunked ratings by internationalorganisationsandannouncedthesettingupofareviewbyseniorIndianjournalists.Ironically, the current NDA government has been unabashed in its selectiveengagement with news media that are seen as pliant. It has disregarded criticalmedia and itsmedia policy is designed to excludenewsmedia perceived as ‘anti-national’fromtheawardofofficialgovernmentadvertising.Thehostileanddismissiveattitudeofthegovernmenttowardsindependentmediareportageandthecriminalizingofjournalistsfortheirreportswerenowheremoremarked than in the first few months of the lockdown announced by the Uniongovernment in March 2020. An advisory was issued by the Union Ministry ofElectronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) onMarch 20, 2020, to all socialmedia platforms to ‘inform users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish,transmit,updateorshareanyinformationthatmayaffectpublicorderandunlawfulin anyway.’ Ameeting between PrimeMinister NarendraModi and selectmediaownerstoensurepositivearticlesaboutthepandemicfollowedthisonMarch24.Taking their cue, different State governments issued notifications regulating themedia. The SupremeCourt, in a petition on the plight ofmigrant labour after theannouncementofacountrywidelockdownwithbarelyfourhoursnotice,acceptedastatus report of theUnionGovernment that said the ‘exodusofmigrant labourerswastriggeredduetopaniccreatedbysomefake/misleadingnewsandsocialmedia’.Giventhesepronouncements, thepunitiveattitudeof thestatetowards journalistshaspercolatedtolaw-enforcingagenciesandalllevelsoftheadministration.Insteadofaclimateallowingthemediatoholdtheagenciesaccountable,journalistsendupbeingcriminalizedandputinthedock.


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FreeSpeechUnderAttackThere have been other attacks on freedom of expression in India, affecting allcitizens, political and social activists, artists, filmmakers, writers, theatreperformers, stand-up comics, cartoonists and users of social media networkingplatforms.IndiaranksasthecountrywiththehighestnumberofInternetshutdowns,withatleast 64 shutdowns tracked by Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in) in 2020alone. In August 2019, on the eve of the abrogation of Art 370 in Kashmir, theInternetwasshutdownacrossthestate,withaccessselectivelyrestoredasthestatewasdowngraded intoaUnionTerritory.Tilldate,despitemultiplepetitions intheSupreme Court including pleas by doctors seeking information on tackling theCovid-19pandemic,full4GInternetisnotallowedinKashmir.Theendof thedecadehasalsomarked theriseofahighlypolarizedandpartisanmedia.Blatantlyfuellingfalseandincitingnewscoverage,this--mainlybroadcast--media indulged in propaganda, demonization of Muslims and peddled falseinformation.AsTheHootannualfreespeechreportfor2014said,theyearsawthesharpest rise in hate speech instances from two in 2012 and ten in 2013 to 22instances, peaking in the run-up to what was billed as the most divisive generalelection in India’s history. Hate propaganda by established media has onlyincreased. A report by the Campaign Against Hate pointed out that the‘demonization of Muslims in the case of the Tablighi Jamaat cluster was incontinuation with media’s characterisation of the anti-CAA protestors as anti-nationals. In both cases, the message from sections of the media was that theseindividualsandcommunitieswerenotentitledtofullconstitutionalrights.ItisinthiscontextthatFreeSpeechCollectiveundertookthisanalysisofadecadeofcases lodged against journalists or other forms of harassment and intimidationthroughinterrogationsandshow-causenotices.


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ISTORY-TELLERSBEHINDBARSAsharpriseincriminalcaseslodgedagainstjournalistsinIndiafortheirwork,withamajorityof cases inBJP-ruled states, has contributed to thedeterioration in theclimate for free speech in India. Along with the already prevailing impunity forcrimesagainst journalists, these instances clampdownon the flowof informationandhaveachillingeffectonthefreedomofthemediainIndia.Inthelastdecade,154journalistsinIndiawerearrested,detained,interrogatedorserved show cause notices for their professional work. Sixty-seven of thesewererecorded in 2020 alone. Between 2010-20, nine foreign journalists faceddeportation,interrogationorweredeniedentryintoIndia.Amajorityof the Indian journalistsworked fornon-Englishprintpublicationsandtelevision channels, were freelancers or published on various online socialmediaplatforms.Seventy-threeofthe154casesdocumentedinthisstudyhavebeenreportedfromBJP-ruledstates. Another30caseswerereportedfromstatesruledbyBJPanditsNationalDemocraticAlliance(NDA).OfthecasesinBJP-ruledstates,UttarPradeshledthepackwith29cases.OtherinstancesarefromstatesunderPresident’sRuleorGovernor’srule,directlyunderthecontroloftheUniongovernment.For the first four years of the decade under this study, the Congress-I led UnitedProgressiveAlliance (UPA)was inpower at theCentrewhile theBJP-ledNationalDemocraticAlliance(NDA)hasbeeninpowersinceMay2014.Therewere19casesundertheUPAwatch,i.e.between2010-May2014.From2017,thenumberofcasesagainstjournalistshasbeenindoublefigures.Journalists have been arrested and face court cases on ‘terror’ and ‘conspiracy’charges under sections in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA),Official Secrets Act (OSA), sedition, spreading communal disharmony, trespass,cheating,criminalconspiracyintheIndianPenalCode(IPC),1860,obscenityunderthe Information Technology Act, 2000, the Disaster Management Act, 2005, theEpidemicDiseasesAct,1897andprohibitoryordersunderSec144oftheCriminalProcedureCode,1973.Two journalists –Aasif Sultan of the Kashmir Narrator and Siddique Kappan ofAzhimukham - are still in custody on charges under the UAPA while a third,PrashantRahi,hasbeenconvictedandsentencedtolifeimprisonment.OnJune25,2019, Ghulam Jeelani Qadri, journalist and publisher of the Urdu-languagenewspaperDailyAfaaqfromSrinagar,JammuandKashmir,wasarrestedonchargesunderthenowlapsedTerroristandDisruptiveActivities(Prevention)Act,1985! Overtheten-yearperiod,56journalistswerearrestedandspentvaryingamountsoftime behind bars before being released on bail. This year, journalist PrashantKanojiaspent80daysinjailformerelypostingatweet,securingbailonlyafter61


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days.Atleast13journalistsobtainedanticipatorybailwhileanequalnumberweredetained.Atleast45othershavehadFIRslodgedagainstthem.Over the decade, journalists and the stories that evoked such drastic responseincluded:

§ theeditorsof‘Dastak’magazineSeemaAzadandVishwaVijay(arrestedandawarded life imprisonment on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracyunder the UAPA for writing about the opposition to the Mayawatigovernment’sforciblelandacquisitionfortheGangaExpresswayproject;

§ journalistKKShahinachargedundertheUAPAforanarticleonthepoliceinvestigationagainstAbdulNasarMadani;

§ QuintjournalistPoonamAgarwalchargedundertheOfficialSecretsActforasting report on the sahayak systemand abetment to suicide, following thedeathofRoyMathew,oneofthesahayaksinterviewed;

§ DeccanHeraldjournalist,Muthi-ur-RehmanSiddiquiarrestedonchargesofbeing the mastermind in an alleged Lashkar-e-Toiba plot to kill otherjournalistsfortheir‘right-wingleanings’;

§ television journalist Jaikhlong Brahma, arrested on charges of “providinginformationtoextremists;

§ freelancejournalist,NehaDixitwhowroteanexposéontraffickingofyounggirlstitledOperation#BabyLift;

§ journalistsKamalShuklaandPrabhatSingh facedmultiplecases, includingseditionchargesagainstShukla;

§ journalistsAbhilashPadacherry,AnanthuRajagopal,arrestedonchargesofobstructingpublicofficialswhentheywenttocovertheVadayampadi‘castewall’inKerala;

§ journalist Auqib Javeed questioned in the case of Asiya Andrabi, chief ofKashmiri women’s separatist groups Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) who wasarrestedbytheNIAunderchargesofseditionandUAPA;

§ journalistsMasrat Zahra and Gowhar Geelani booked by the Cyber police,Srinagar,forallegedly‘indulginginunlawfulactivities’throughhispostsandwritingsonsocialmedia;

§ journalistAshwaniSainiwhohadfiveFIRslodgedagainsthimforhisvideoreport on the failure of the administration during the lockdown and otherpandemic-relatedstories

(Note:Pleasescrolldownforthecompletelist)Foreign journalists have found the going tough, denied visas and restricted fromtravellingto‘conflict’areas.In2011,notedradiobroadcasterDavidBarsamianwasdeported fromDelhiairport. In2017,ABCFourCorners,anAustraliannews teamled by Stephen Long, was forced to leave Gujarat while reporting on the AdaniGroup’sMundraport.InDecember2017,PaulComiti,aFrenchfreelancejournalist,was arrested for filming a documentary without permission and violating visaregulations, Jammu and Kashmir police said. Other cases in 2018 were of AlbanAlvarez,correspondentforFrenchnewschannelFRANCE24inIndia,andDerekMac


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Donald,aBritishnational;ArthurRolandReneandJulesDamien,MarkSciallawhileCathalMcNaughton, chief photographer at the Reuters news agency’s Delhi officewasdeniedentry.Cases against Republic television channel owner Arnab Goswami and Zee NewstelevisionchanneleditorSudhirChaudharyrelatedtotheirallegedlyinflammatorynewscoverage.Goswamiwasarrestedonanabetmenttosuicidechargerelatingtohismediabusinessandreleasedonbail,followingaSupremeCourtorder.Thecaseprovided stark evidence of preferential treatment regarding the grant of bailaccordedtomediapersonsperceivedtobeclosetotherulingpoliticalparty,instarkcontrasttotheharassmentandprolongedincarcerationofjournalistswhoareseenascriticalvoicesagainsttherulingestablishment.Apartfromthearrests,anumberofjournalistsweresummonedforinterrogationorserved with show cause notices, often a precursor to punitive action by theadministration. For journalists reporting from conflict areas like Jammu andKashmir,constantsurveillanceandsummonsfromthepoliceoradministrationovernewsreportsisroutine,withtheunspokenthreatofacasebeingfiledifjournalistscontinuetochallengetheinvisibleboundariesdrawnforthem.Only14journalistsmanagedtofightcourtcasesandsecuretheiracquittalsorhadtheir cases quashed or disposed of. Their legal battles, long and often lonely andwithscantsupport,camewithaprice.Theyhavelostjobsandfacedintensetraumaandisolation,runuphugedebts,caughtup inaquagmireofweeklyattendance inpolicestationsandsuccessivecourtdatestillcasesareultimatelyresolved.Inthewakeofmassiveeconomicupheaval,thecollapseofpublichealthsystems,therise inunemployment, privatizationof public resources andpolicies that result indisplacement and adversely impact the environment, the penalizing of journalistsseeking to hold governments accountable, along with the killing and attacks onjournalists, will have a deleterious effect onmedia freedom in India. It is vital toprotect the freedom to access and disseminate information, shape public opinionandchallengedominantnarratives.


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IICASESAGAINSTJOURNALISTSThe number of cases lodged against journalists has been in double figures from2017onwards.

YEAR* No.OfInstances

2010 10

2011 03

2012 05

2013 01

2014 01

2015 07

2016 06

2017 16

2018 25

2019 13

2020 67

Total 154

Table1:No.ofCaseslodgedagainstjournalistsinIndia

State-wiselistofcases


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STATE (orUT)

YEAR TOTAL

UttarPradesh 2020(15),2019(10),2017(2),2010(2) 29Chhattisgarh 2020 (2), 2018 (4), 2016 (3), 2015 (2),

2013(1)2012(1),2011(1),2010(3)17

Jammu&Kashmir

2020(9),2019(2),2018(2),2017(3) 16

TamilNadu 2020(4),2018(6),2017(4),2015(1) 15Delhi* 2020 (5), 2018 (1), 2017 (1), 2015 (1),

2012(1),2011(1)10

Maharashtra 2020 (3), 2018 (2), 2017 (3), 2015 (1),2011(1)

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Gujarat** 2020(6),2017(1) 7Assam 2020(1),2018(2),2016(3),2014(1) 7Karnataka** 2020(1),2012(3),2010(2) 6HimachalPradesh*

2020(5) 5

Kerala 2020(1),2018(4) 5Manipur 2020(1),2018(2),2010(2) 5Telangana 2020(3),2017(1) 4WestBengal 2020(4) 4Bihar 2020(2) 2Jharkhand 2020(1),2010(1) 2

MadhyaPradesh

2020(2) 2

Punjab 2020(1),2015(1) 2

AndamanandNicobarIslands

2020(1) 1

AndhraPradesh

2017(1) 1

Goa 2018(1) 1Haryana 2015(1),2019(1) 2Meghalaya 2020(1) 1Odisha 2018(1) 1Sikkim 2020(1) 1TOTAL156*Table2:Stateswiselistofcasesagainstjournalists2010-20**Two FIRS were registered in Karnataka and Gujarat. They havebeencountedhereas2cases,1ineachstate*Two FIRS were registered in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh. Theyhavebeencountedhereas2cases,1ineachstate.

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Casesandtherulingstategovernments

President’sRule 12Governor’sRule 02LtGovernor’sRule 01AAP 08AIADMK 13BJP 73BSP 02BJP-SS 06BJD 01INC 09JD(U) 02JMM 01LDF 05NPP 01PDP(+BJP) 03SP 01SAD(+BJP) 01SKM 01SS-INC-NCP 03TDP 01TMC 04TRS 04


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Abriefsummaryofcases(2010-20)Note:This list includes cases lodged, journalists arrested, detainedor summoned forinterrogation,andsentnoticesforreports.Thisinformationiscollatedfromvarioussourcesandeveryattempthasbeenmadetoverifytheinformationandupdatethecasestatus,despitetheabsenceofofficialdata.Ifyouhaveadditionalinformationoranyadditionsoromissions,[email protected].

2010

1. On January 5, journalists Priyanka Borpujari and Satyen Bordoloi andfilmmaker Nishtha Jain, all from Mumbai, were detained by police inDantewada, Chhattisgarh, when they had visited the state to cover a jansunwai (public hearing) organized by civil society activists. They weresurrounded by 25 armed police and SPOs and prevented from leaving,placing them under virtual house arrest. They were assaulted and theircamerasweretakenaway.Afterpublicpressure,thelocaladministrationwasforcedtoletthemgo.

2. OnFebruary3,theUttarPradeshspecialtaskforcearrestedSeemaAzadandVishwa Vijay, the editors of ‘Dastak’ magazine, on charges of sedition andcriminal conspiracy under various sections of the Unlawful ActivitiesPreventionAct(UAPA).Azadwastheorganisingsecretaryof theUPunitofthehuman rights group, People’sUnion forCivil Liberties (PUCL).TheduowaswritingabouttheoppositiontotheMayawatigovernment’sforciblelandacquisition for the Ganga Expressway project but police alleged theyweresuspected Maoists. On June 8, 2012, they were sentenced to lifeimprisonmentbyalowercourtinAllahabad.TheymanagedtosecurebailonanorderfromtheAllahabadHighCourtinAugust6,2012.

3. OnMarch20, JiribambasedmediapersonsMoirangthemRomeoandAtomLukhoi, were arrested by Imphal East commandos on the occasion of themaidenvisitofGovernorGurbachan Jagat to thesub-divisionheadquarters.RomeoisJiribamcorrespondentofISTVandDDKImphalandvice-presidentofAll JiribamWorking Journalists'Union (AJWJU).AtomLukhoi (28) is theJiribamcorrespondentofPoknaphamdailyandActingEditoroftheEasternPost, a Manipuri weekly published at Jiribam and general secretary of theAJWJU.Noreasonsweregivenforthearrests.

4. On May 4, Karnataka police threatened to use the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act against Rahul Belagali, a reporter of the Prajavaninewspaper and demanded information on a Maoist he interviewed. TheShimoga police had demanded information on theNaxalite leaderwho thereporter had interviewed for an article onNaxalismwhich appeared in hispublication. When the reporter refused to comply, the police also sent anotice to his associate editor, Padmaraj Dandevali, threatening to use thesameActagainsthim.

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5. On Sept 3, Central security forces detained G Vishnu, a journalist withTehelka magazine, near Jamshedpur. He was detained despite havinginformedtheofficialsofUCIL(UraniumCorporationofIndiaLtd)beforehandabouthisvisitforastorythatwaspartofthemagazine’sNuclearCloud&N-Billseries.Vishnuwaswalkingfromonevillagetoanother,whichhaveopen-castmineswithnocleardemarcations,whenhewasdetainedfortrespassingand indulging in illegal activities. Later, Surendranagar Police StationJamshedpurformallychargedthejournalistandtwootherlocalsunder19(b)of theAtomic EnergyAct, and sections 188 and163 of the IPC. Theyweregrantedbailandallowedtoleavebuttheircameras,tapesandmobilephoneswereseized.

6. On Dec 1, Karnataka police charged journalist Shahina K K under sections506 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on charges of criminalintimidation of witnesses in connection with sources she interviewed inKodagu district for an article entitled ‘Why is this man still in prison?’,publishedinTehelkaMagazineonDecember4,2010,ontheincarcerationofAbdulNasarMadani, ChairmanofPeople’sDemocraticParty (PDP),Kerala.Police added a third charge under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA). The KarnatakaHigh Court granted her provisional immunity fromarrestonlyinJuly2011.Thecaseisstillon.

2011

1. OnMay17,almostayearafterhisstorywaspublished,TarakantDwivedi,areporter with Mid Day, was arrested by Railway Police in Mumbai ongroundsoftrespassing(u/sSection447oftheIndianPenalCode,1860)intothe Railway Protection Force (RPF) armoury at the Chhatrapati Shivajiterminus armoury and later on a charge of spying under theOfficialSecretsAct, 1923 (OSA). Dwivedi, alias Akela, was working for theMumbaiMirrorwhenhefiledastoryonJune28,2010aboutthepoorstateofthe armoury. His report said that automatic weapons purchased followingthe outrage over outdated arms used by the RPF to repulse the terroristattackon26/11werebeingstored inaroomwitha leakyroof.PicturesbyRaju Shinde showed rifles being soaked in rainwater. Two days later, theRailwayCourtremandedhimtothreedayspolicecustody.InFebruary2013,adivisionbenchoftheBombayHighCourtcomprisingJusticesAbhaySOkaandAPBhangaledisposedofAkela’spetitiontohavethecasequashed,afteranassurancefromthestategovernmentthatitwouldfileaclosurereport.

2. On September 10, Chhattisgarh police arrested Lingaram Kodopi, inSeptember 2011 and charged him with sedition, waging war against thestate,andcriminalconspiracyundertheIndianpenalcode,andforanti-stateactivitiesundertheUnlawfulActivities(Prevention)ActandtheChhattisgarhPublic Security Act. Kodopi, a freelance journalist, was accused ofmastermindinganattackagainsta localpolitician in2010and facilitatingamoney exchange betweenMaoists and a representative of a steel companywanting to operate in aMaoist insurgent-controlled area. Kodopi said thatthearrestswereinretaliationtohisdetailedvideodocumentationofpoliceatrocities and destruction of houses in Dantewada district during an anti-MaoistpoliceoperationinthreevillagesinApril.


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ForeignJournalists

1. On Sept 23, noted US broadcaster and Director of the Alternative Radio,DavidBarsamian,wasdeported fromDelhi's international airportonby theimmigrationauthorities,whotoldhimthathewas“banned''fromenteringthecountry but refused to divulge the reasons. Barsamian had been a frequentvisitor to India since the 1970s and has written extensively about variousfacetsofIndiaanditspeople.Itisreportedthathehadviolatedhisvisanormsduring a visit in 2009-10 by indulging in professionalworkwhile holding atourist visa. Thereafter, he was put on a watch list by the immigrationauthoritiesinordertopreventhisentryonhisnextvisit.Barsamiansaidthathereceivednoofficialexplanation.

2012

1. On June 14, Chhattisgarh Police arrested journalist Sheikh Anwar forallegedly procuring weapons and ammunition for Maoists in Chhattisgarh.AnwarwasarrestedalongwithanallegedMaoist,HrideshKumarDawood.Two days prior to his arrest, his wife, Anjali Chouhan, was arrested withanother alleged Maoist, Abdul Mujeeb. Police said Anwar worked as ajournalist in theNaxal regionofKota,andhealongwithanother individualfrom Andhra Pradesh had "procured the rounds" from police andparamilitary forces in order to supply them to the Maoists. They werecharged under sections of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act,Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and the Indian Penal Code(IPC).

OnMarch22,2017,allfourwerereleasedafteradditionalsessionsjudgeAtulKumarShrivastavadidnotfindanyconcreteevidencetosupportthechargesagainst them. All four were arrested in Raipur but the police reportedlyshowedtheirarrestsfromdifferentplaces.

2.OnAugust29,BengalurupolicearrestedDeccanHeraldjournalist,Muthi-ur-Rehman Siddiqui and charged him with being the mastermind in analleged Lashkar-e-Toiba plot to kill editor Vishweshwar Bhat, columnistPratapSimhaandpublisherVijaySankeshwarfortheir‘right-wingleanings’.The former twowere earlierwith Vijaya Karnataka newspaper and joinedRajeevChandrasekhar‘sKannadaPrabha.

On February 23, 2013, a special court trying the case ordered Siddiqui’sreleaseafterthenationalinvestigationagency(NIA),whichinvestigatedthecase,didn’tnamehiminitschargesheetonFebruary20.

3. On Mar 6, the special cell of the Delhi police arrested freelance journalistSyedMohammedAhmedKazmiforhisallegedroleintheattackonanIsraeliEmbassyvehicleonFebruary13.ThespecialcellpickedupKazmiaftertheprobeindicatedthathehadbeenintouchwithasuspectwhoisbelievedto

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have stuck the bomb on Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua Koren's car. Kazmiwasreleasedonbailaftereightmonths.

4. On November 7, Naveen Soorinje, a Mangalore-based television journalist,and cameraperson Sharan were arrested for exposing an attack by anextremist cultural outfit called the Hindu Jagarana Vedike on July 20 on agroup of boys and girlswhowere celebrating a birthday party atMorningMisthome-stayinMangalore.SoorinjewaschargedwithmultiplesectionsofIndianPenal Code (IPC) including criminal conspiracy, using criminal forceonawomanwiththeintentionofoutraginghermodestyaswellassectionsofIndecentRepresentationofWomen(Prohibition)Act.TheBangaloreHighCourtdeniedhisapplicationforbail.HewasfinallyreleasedonbailonMarch23,2013andallchargesweredroppedonJan4,2018

2013

1. On September 1, Prashant Rahi, a freelance journalist fromUttarakhandwaspickedupfromRaipurandthenonthe2ndofSeptember,onsuspicionofhaving links with the banned Maoist organization. He was charged withseveralsectionsofUAPAandseditionundertheIPCinthesamecase.Rahi,whowasa journalist for theStatesman,becamea freelancewriter in2000-2001. In March 2017, he was awarded life imprisonment, along with fourothersundersection120B(criminalconspiracy)IPCandalsofivesectionsofthe Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) - 13 (unlawful activity), 18(conspiracy), 20 (punishment for being member of terrorist gang ororganisation),38-membershipofa terroristorganisationand39-supporttoterroristorganisation.

2014

1. OnSept4,AssamPolicearrestedtelevisionjournalistJaikhlongBrahma,whoworks for a Guwahati-based private news channelNewsLive, in Kokrajhartown on Tuesday night on charges of “providing information to theextremistsaboutthemovementofsecurityforcesinadvanceandinstigatingthe cadres of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) toindulge in violent activities such as killing of innocent persons, sources orinformers. According to the JournalistsUnion of Assam (JUA), Brahmawasactually arrested because of an interview he had done with a prominentfigurewithintheNationalDemocraticFrontofBoroland(NDFB).

2015

1. On January 29, Shirin Dalvi, editor of Urdu newspaper ‘Avadhnama’, wasarrested under section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (deliberate actsintendingtooutragereligiousfeelings)forreprintingtheCharlieHebdo‘anti-Islam’cartoononthefrontpageofthepaper’sJanuary17issue.Despiteherapology, she faced threats, forcing her to go into hiding. InApril 2019, theBombayHighCourtdisposedoffhercaseaftertheMaharashtrapolicefileda‘C’ summary report (where police investigation reveals that the case is


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neithertruenorfalseandthatthecriminalcasewasfiledeitherbecauseofamistakeoffactsortheoffencewascivilinnature).

2. OnFeb20,DelhiPolicearrestedjournalistSantanuSaikiainconnectionwithaprobeintotheallegedleakofpetroleumministrydocumentstocorporates.Saikiaworked inpublications suchasTheEconomicTimes, IndianExpress,Financial Express and Business India. He runsthree portals related to theenergy sector– www.indianpetro.com www.energylineindia.com andwww.indianfertilizer.com. Saikia was arrested along with six others -Shailesh Saxena of Reliance Industries Ltd, Vinay Kumar of Essar, RishiAnand of Reliance ADAG, Cairns India's K K Nayak, Virender and SubhashChandraofJubilantEnergy.Thesixareamongthe16whohavebeenaccusedof being involved in leaking confidential documents from the PetroleumMinistry and supplying them to firms and arrested in February. Of the 16whohadbeenarrestedinthecase,thepolicehadfiledchargesagainstthe13in April. The suspects had been charged with offences punishable undersections 457 (trespass), 380 (theft), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for thepurpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine forged documents), 120-B(criminalconspiracy)and34(common intention)of the IndianPenalCode.However,provisionsofthestringentOfficialSecretsAct(OSA)haveyettobeinvokedagainst them.In1999, theCBI filedacaseagainstMr.SaikiaundertheOfficialSecretsActforpublishingasecretCabinetnoteondisinvestment.Thecasewenton for10yearsbeforehewasacquitted in2009aftera trialcourt inDelhi ruled inhis favour. The court ruled that thepublicationof adocumentmerelylabelled“secret”shouldnotrenderthejournalistliableforprosecutionundertheAct.Thecourtsaidthepublicationofadisinvestmentdocument was unlikely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India orjeopardise friendlyrelationswithforeignstates.SaikiawasreleasedonbailinMay,afterspendingmorethan80daysinprison.

3. OnJuly16,SomaruNagstringerforPatrikawasarrestedandchargedunderthe Arms Act and sections of the law dealing with arson, banditry andcriminal conspiracy. He was charged with keeping a look out on themovements of thepolice,while a groupburnt a crusherplant employed inroad construction in Chote Kadma, Bastar district, on June 26. He wasacquitted in July2016,afterAdditionalDistrict JudgeNiranjanLalChouhanquashedallchargesagainsthim,citinglackofevidence.

4. OnSeptember29,SantoshYadav,stringerforDainikNavbharat,Patrika,andDainikChhattisgarhwas arrested and chargedunder sections of the IndianPenalCode,theArmsAct,theUnlawfulActivitiesPreventionActandtheTheChhattisgarh Special Public Security (CSPS) Act, 2005. Yadav's name wasadded to a case where 18 villagers were arrested and charged with anencounter,which tookplaceonAugustduringa road-openingoperationbythe security forces in which a Special Police Officer was killed. He wasgrantedbailonlyinFebruary2017andacquittedinJanuary2020.Thepoliceofficerwhohadlodgedthecomplaintagainsthimfailedtoidentifyhiminanidentification parade. All the other seventeen accused with him were alsoacquitted.

5. On Sept 3, 2015, a visual editor of Jaya TV, Shakthivel, was arrested oncharges of leaking a video showing TN Chief Minister Jayalalithaameeting

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long-time confidante andadviserChoRamaswamyat ahospital inChennaiwherehewasadmitted.ThefootagewasallegedlyleakedfromJayaTV.Thecyber-crime wing of the crime branch registered a case under the IT actagainstthevisualeditor.

6. On Feb 26, journalist Surinder Singh Pachisa was arrested for covering ahungerstrikebyBapuSuratSinghforthereleaseofSikhpoliticalprisoners.OnOct21, Singh,whowroteextensivelyonSikhpolitics,wasarrested ina27-year-oldcaseonchargesundertheTerroristandDisruptiveActivitiesAct,though the act lapsed in 1995. The case dated back to June 1988 whenSurinderSinghwasaffiliatedwiththeSikhStudentFederationwaspresentedinthecourtofAdditionalSessionsJudgeRakeshKumar.SinghwasacquittedonSept7,2016.

2016

1. JournalistsKamalShuklaandPrabhatSinghwerechargedwithdefamation,

insult to provoke breach of peace, publicmischief and disturbing religiousenmity. On March 22, Singh was arrested on charges under section 67(publishingortransmittingobscenematerialinelectronicform)and67(A)oftheITActaswellassection292(publicationofobsceneorscurrilousmatter)of the Indian Penal Code. An FIR was registered on March 5 based on acomplaint by Santosh Tiwari,who accused Prabhat Singh of using obscenelanguagewith reference to senior police officers in Bastar on aWhatsAppgroupcalled‘BastarNews.’

2. OnMarch27, journalistDeepak Jaiswalwasheldona complaint lodgedbythePrincipalofagovernmenthighschool,RanjeetTikam.PoliceallegedthatJaiswal andSinghhad tried to extortmoney from the schoolprincipal.Thejournalistssaidtheyhadgonetoreportonexaminationmalpractices in theschool.

3. InAugust2016,acriminalcomplaintforincitinghateagainstdifferentethnicgroupswaslodgedagainstindependentIndianjournalist,NehaDixit,aswellas Indranil Roy and Krishna Prasad, the publisher and editor of OutlookmagazineforthejournalisticexposéontraffickingoftribalgirlsfromAssambytheSanghParivar.Thestory,titledOperation#BabyLift,waspublishedinOutlookmagazine on July 29, 2016. The complainants were an assistantsolicitorgeneralofthegovernmentofIndiaattheGauhatiHighCourt,andaspokesmanfortheBJP.

2017

1. In January, Frontlinemagazine correspondent Kunal Shankar was held fortrespassing into the University of Hyderabad and violating the High Courtorder (barring outsider entry) on the first death anniversary of RohithVemula.Hewasquestionedandsubsequentlyreleased.

2. InJanuary,alocaljournalist(namenotdisclosed)inMathura,UttarPradeshwas interrogated for posting an ‘objectionable video’ on the social mediagroupofthedistrictPROcellinMathura.Hewasreleasedafterinterrogation.

3. On March 28, Poonam Agrawal, journalist for English news website TheQuint,waschargedundertheOfficialSecretsAct,a1923anti-espionagelaw,by police inNashik and for criminal defamation and abetment of a suicide


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under the IndianPenal Code. She haddone a sting report on the infamous‘sahayak’ system whereby senior army officers use the services ofsubordinate soldiers for personal work. She was accused of entering arestrictedareaofanarmycantonmentwithoutthepermissionofauthoritiesand filmed the premises besides interviewing some jawans. One of thesoldiersshetaped,RoyMatthews,wasfounddeadonMarch2,inwhatpolicehave determined was a suicide. In April 2019, the Bombay High Courtquashedthetwocasesagainsther.

4. InMarch2017,magazinejournalistN.NagarjunaReddyhadapolicecasefiledagainsthimbyaformerTDPcouncilorattheChiralaPoliceStationinMarch.HewasremandedinjudicialcustodytillApril7andsenttoasub--jail.

5. InAugust, theChiefof theCentralBoardofFilmCertification(CBFC)PahlajNihalani filed a police complaint against Himanshi Chaudhary, a reporterwith the TV channel Mirror Now, alleging harassment, intimidation andbreachofprivacy.

6. In October, former BBC journalist Vinod Verma was arrested from hisresidenceinIndirapuram,UttarPradeshinOctoberandinitiallydeniedbailonNovember6.BailwasfinallygrantedinDecember.

7. InSeptember,KamranYousuf,astringerandphotojournalist,waspickedupbytheNationalInvestigationAgency(NIA)forstonepelting.OnJanuary18,2018, theNational InvestigationAgencybroughtchargesofseditionagainsthim.

8. On September 27, Tamil Nadu police filed an FIR against three journalists,NagarajanandRajaKrishna,whowork forPuthiyaThalaimuraiandAntonyJagan,whoworksforDinakaran.forreportinga‘mysteriousexplosion’intheISROcampusinTirunelveli.AnumberoftelevisionchannelsairedclipsthatshowedvisualsofsmokerisingfromthelocationoftheISROcampus,whichpolicelatersaidemanatedfromthedustcausedbyapieceoflimestonerockthathadslippedfromKuravaMalai,ahillockabout15kmfromtheISROunit.

9. OnNovember5,GBalakrishnan (Bala), an independenteditorial cartoonistbasedinTirunelvelidistrict,wasarrestedbytheCrimeBranchwingofTamilNadu police for a cartoon he posted on socialmedia criticising the districtadministrationandChiefMinisterEdappadiK.Palaniswami.Hewasaccusedof“obscenerepresentation”anddefamationandwasbookedunderSections67ofInformationTechnologyActand501oftheIndianPenalCode.Hewasreleasedonbailadaylater.

10. On Dec 26, Mumbai Police detained Mumbai-based independent journalistPriyankaBorpujariwhile shewasat a slumdemolition site coveringpoliceaction against protestors includingwomen and children. Not onlywas shetakenawaywithoutanygrounds foractionagainsther,herequipmentandphone was confiscated as well. Police alleged that she was instigating theprotestors and slapped charges under sec 353 of the Indian Penal Codeagainsther.BorpujarisecuredanticipatorybailonJan30,2019.

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Journalistsdetainedandquestioned:

1. KshitijKumar,a23-year-oldsub-editorwithTheQuintwaspickedup fromKathputli Colony inOctoberwhile covering aDelhiDevelopmentAuthoritydemolitiondrive.Hewasdetainedforoversixhoursandthenreleased.

2. FahadShah, journalist,waspickedupby the JammuandKashmirpolice inJunepurportedlytoverifycertainthingsregardinghis lastvisit toPakistan.Hewasreleasedaftereighthoursofquestioning.

Foreignjournalists:

1. InOctober,ABCFourCorners,anAustraliannewsteamledbyStephenLong,wasthreatenedbytheCrimeBranchofGujaratPolicewhileitwasatGujarat’sMundraporttoinvestigatetheAdanigroup.ItwasforcedtoleaveGujaratandIndia.

2. InDecember, Paul Comiti, a French freelance journalist,was arrestedfor filming a documentary without permission and violating visaregulations, Jammu andKashmir police said. Hewas released on bailthefollowingday.

2018

1. On Jan 23, two journalists who had gone to cover the Vadayampadi ‘castewall’inKeralafoundthemselvesbehindbars.AbhilashPadacherry,EditorofNewsport.in, andAnanthuRajagopal, an internwithDeccanChronicle,werearrested for ‘obstructing the functioning of public officials and shoutingslogansagainst thepoliceandtheState’.Thepolicewenton tobrandthem‘Maoistsupporters’.Theywerelaterfreed.

2. On February 19, journalist, Harish Volvoikar, who runs a websiteGoaJunction.com, was detained for posting news in February that ChiefMinister, Manohar Parrikar was undergoing treatment for a pancreaticailment quoting a BJP leader Sunil Desai. Desai filed a case against thereporter for posting ‘false news in hisWhatsApp post and misguiding thepeople’. The journalist was further barred from entering the GoaAssembly.Eightmonthslater,inOctober,thegovernmentfinallyadmittedtotheailment.Parrikardiedofpancreaticcancerin2019.

3. On May 8, Bharaulmukh Police registered a case against senior journalistSubirBhaumik based on an FIR lodgedbyPikuDas, a resident of Santipurarea.InhisFIR,thecomplainantallegedthattheseniorjournalisthadwrittenfalse and provocative reports vis-à-vis the NRC update process. Policesources said that the casewas handed over to the crime branch. Bhaumikwas recently in controversy forhis reportson theNRCupdatewhichweresubsequently rebutted by the State Coordinator PrateekHajela. In a reportthatappearedinAlJazeeraonMarch29,Hajelawasquotedassaying“some4.8 million people in Assam ‘have failed to provide appropriate legacydocuments’inadvanceofthepreliminarylist’spublicationonSaturday–thesecondtimesuchalistisbeingpublished,thefirstbeingatthebeginningof


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the year.” Hajela denied giving any such statement to Al Jazeera or SubirBhaumik.

4. OnJune21,inabizarreincident,tworeporterswhowenttocover‘breakingnews’on thearrestofaprimesuspect ina caseofdacoity inPalghar,nearMumbai, were arrested as one of them began to film the accused beingbroughtin.HussainKhan,astringerwithAajTaknewschannelwasfilmingthesuspectwhenpolice tookobjectionandarrestedhim.HiscolleagueandreporterforHindustanTimes,RamParmar,whowenttothepolicestationanhourlatertofollowuponthesamestory,raisedobjectionsatthearrestofhiscolleague forwhich hewas arrested the nextmorning! Bothwere chargedwith assaulting a public servant and obstructing him from discharging hisdutyundersection353of the IPC.Theduomanagedtosecurebailon June25. They were released a day later as the bail order could not be printedbecauseofapowerfailure.ThePressCouncilofIndiaconductedanenquiryintheircase,pullingupthePalgharpoliceandtermedtheiractas“definitelyacaseofviolationofthefreedomofthepress”.

5. OnApril28,JarirBarbhuiyaofAssamwasarrestedforreproducingacartoonthat featured the President of India, Chief Justice of India and the PrimeMinister in the wake of the controversy surrounding the death of JusticeLoya.

6. OnMay5,ChhattisgarhjournalistKamalShuklawasslappedwithaseditioncaseforlikingacartoonthatfeaturedthePresidentofIndia,ChiefJusticeofIndiaandthePrimeMinisterinthewakeofthecontroversysurroundingthedeathofJusticeLoyaonFacebook.

7. On July 14-15, accredited journalist Auqib Javeed, working with KashmirObserver was questioned to National Investigating Agency (NIA)headquartersinDelhiinthecaseofAsiyaAndrabi,chiefofKashmiriwomen’sseparatist groupsDukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM)arrestedbyNIAunder chargesof sedition and UAPA inAugust. “It appears you are acquainted with thecircumstancesofthecase….”saidtheletterseekingthejournalist’spresencebeforeNIA.

8. OnAug27-28,AasifSultanoftheKashmirNarratorwasarrestedundertheUAPAonchargesofprovidingsupporttomilitants.Heisstillinjail.

9. In August, Kishorchandra Wangkhem was arrested on charges of makinginflammatoryremarksonsocialmedia.HespentfourdaysinprisonfortwopostsinwhichhemockedtheBJPasa'BudhuJokerParty'(apartyoffools).

10. OnOct9, theChennai citypolicearrestedRRGopal, editorof theTamilbi-weeklyNakeeran,underSection124-AoftheIPCafteracomplaintfromtheTamilNadu governor’s office.Hewas taken to Chindathripet police stationfor questioning. Gopal was arrested for publishing a cover story that themagazine carried in its April issue and yet another article in Septemberwhichhadallegationslinkingthegovernor’sofficetoaninvestigationintothe'sex-for-marks'scaminMaduraiKamarajUniversity.Thecasepertainstoanassistant professor, Nirmala Devi, who was arrested for allegedly luringstudentsintosexwork.

11. On Oct 20, three journalists, Kamal Shukla, Bhushan Choudhari andSiddharthyaRoy,weredetained forovereighthours inNarayanpurdistrictofChhattisgarhinanattempttostopjournalistsfromdoinganin-depthstudyof theelectionpreparations in restiveBastar.Thesuperintendentofpolice

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wasunabletoacceptthatjournalistscouldreachinteriorvillageswithouthisknowledgeandpermission.

12. OnOctober23,defenceanalystandcolumnistAbhijitIyer-Mitrawasarrestedby Odisha police on charges of sedition for his tweets that ridiculed theJagannathtempleandSunTemple.InSeptember,hehadvisitedthetempleswith former BJDMP Baijayant Jay Panda. Hewas released on December 7afterhetenderedanapologyandtheOdishagovernmentwithdrewsanctionforhisprosecutionandcaseslodgedagainsthim.

13. On Nov 27, Imphal police arrested Kishorchandra Wangkhem under thedraconianNational SecurityAct. Police said he had posted four videos andcomments on his Facebook page on 19 November, criticising the localgovernment led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - hedescribed the Manipur chief minister as a "puppet" of Prime MinisterNarendraModi'sfederalgovernment.

14. OnDec2,KanyakumariPolicesummonedtwoTamiltelevisionreportersforan inquiry in connection with a trespassing case against two Frenchjournalists,who allegedly entered the restricted andhigh security zones ofIndianRareEarthsLimitednearKanyakumari.Thepolicehavesaidthatthetwo Indian journalists – D Ananthakumar and Sriram – assisted Frenchjournalists,whowerereportedlyonatouristvisa,toconductinterviewswithfishermeninKanyakumariandNagercoil.

ForeignJournalists

1. On 15 February, police in Ernakulam, Kerala, picked up two foreignjournalists – Alban Alvarez, a French national who works as acorrespondent for the French news channel FRANCE24 in India, andDerek Mac Donald, a British national – on charges of trespass andfilmingwithoutaccreditation.Theywerebookedona complaint fromthe principal of the Government Law College, Ernakulam, where theywerefilmingarallyorganizedbythestudentsaspartoftheValentineDay celebrations. The college authorities said they had been deniedpermissiontofilmtheevent.

2. On Nov 29, Kanyakumari police filed an FIR against three persons,includingtwoFrenchjournalists,ArthurRolandReneandJulesDamien,andapriestoftheManakudyParish,FatherHildasunderIPCSections447 (punishment for criminal trespass), 14(A) (penalty for entry inrestricted areas), 14(B) (penalty forusing forgedpassport) and14(C)(penalty for abetment) of the Foreigners Act 1946. They allegedlyentered the restricted and high security zones of Indian Rare EarthsLimitednearKanyakumari.

3. OnDecember28,CathalMcNaughton,chiefphotographerattheReutersnewsagency’sDelhiofficewassentbackfromtheairportonhisarrivalfrom an overseas trip. The award-winning photojournalist hadallegedlyviolatedvisarulesbyvisitingJammuandKashmir,restrictedforforeignjournalists.Journalistswhowanttotraveltorestrictedareas(Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Himachal Pradesh, parts of Jammu andKashmir, parts of Rajasthan, all of Sikkim and parts of Uttarakhand)


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need to apply for a special permit issued by theMinistry of ExternalAffairs(ExternalPublicityDivision).

4. In another incident on 30 December, police in Thoothukudi, TamilNadu, picked up freelance journalist Mark Scialla for interrogationwherehehadgonetodoastoryontheviolenceandprotestsagainsttheVedantaSterlitefactory.Hewasletoffafterafewhours.

2019

1. On June8,AnujShukla, journalist,NationLiveNews,wasarrestedbyUttarPradeshpolice for sharing a video onTwitterwhich allegedly defamed thechiefministerofUttarPradesh,YogiAdityanath.Thevideocontainedclaimsmadebyawomanagainst theminister.ShuklawasreleasedonbailonJuly21,2019.

2. On June8, IshitaSingh, Journalist,NationLiveNews,wasarrestedbyUttarPradeshpolice forsharingavideoonTwitterwhichallegedly defamedthechiefministerofUttarPradesh,YogiAdityanath.Thevideocontainedclaimsmadebyawomanagainst theminister. Singhwas releasedonbailon June19,2019.

3. OnJune8,PrashantKanojiawasarrestedbyUttarPradeshpoliceforsharinga video allegedly defaming the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, YogiAdityanath, onTwitter.Kanojia allegedly tweeted a video of awomanwhoclaimedoncamerathatshesentamarriageproposaltoAdityanath.HewasreleasedonbailonJune11,followingaSupremeCourtorder.

4. On June 24, Ghulam Jeelani Qadri, editor of the Kashmiri newspaper DailyAfaq,wasarrestedforhisallegedinvolvementinterroristactivities27yearsago. In1992,Qadrirananewsagency, JAKNews,whichhadthenallegedlypublished press releases and news issued by militant groups. Qadri wasreleasedonbailonJune25,2019.

5. On July 25 Qazi Shibli, news editor of The Kashmiriyat newspaper, wasarrested after tweeting an official order regarding the deployment ofparamilitary troops across theKashmir region that allegedly leaked crucialdetails about imminent troop movements in Jammu and Kashmir. He waschargedunderthePublicSafetyAct.ShibliwasreleasedonApril23,2020.

6. On September 3, an FIR was lodged against journalist Pawan Jaiswal ofJansandesh Times on charges of cheating and criminal conspiracy after hisvideoofstudentsatagovernmentschoolineasternUttarPradesh'sMirzapurdistricteatingrotiswithsaltastheirmid-daymealunderaflagshipschemeofthecentralgovernment.Initscomplaint,theBlockEducationOfficerofthearea has accused the journalist, Pawan Jaiswal, and Rajkumar Pal, arepresentative of the local village head, of conspiracy to defame the UttarPradesh government. The website of the Uttar Pradesh Mid Day MealAuthorityclaimsthatthemenuforchildrenatthestate-runprimaryschoolsincludespulses,rice,rotisandvegetables, fruitsandmilk.OnDec19,policegave a clean chit to Jaiswal stated no evidence was found against him.However,policedidnotgiveasimilarclearancetoPal.

7. On Sept 8, Uttar Pradesh police booked five journalists in Bijnor forcirculatingallegedly fakenews reports. In anFIR filedby theBijnorpolice,AshishTomarandShakilAhmed, two journalistsworkingwitha localdaily

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andwith an electronic news channel respectively have been named, alongwith three unidentified reporters. The FIR said that tried to vitiate socialamity by circulating fake news about a Valmiki family fromTitarwala BasivillageunderMandwarpolicestationputting ‘houseonsale’ontheirhouseafter not being allowed to collectwater from the village hand pumpby aninfluentialDalit family from the samevillage.Thepolice said the issuehadbeenresolvedbythepoliceandthevillage‘pradhan’andallegedthatitwasoneofthejournalistswhohadputthe‘exodus’threatonthewalltopresentthe local administration inabad light.TheFIRquotesLokeshDevi,wifeofGopalValmiki,thatthejournalistsaskedhertoputthehouseonsaleonthewall.Whenshesaidshewasilliterateoneofthemwroteitonthewallwithawooden stick and coal powder. However, the news report mentionsPremchand Valmiki as the head of the family. The journalists have beenbookedunder Sections153A (promoting enmity), 268 (nuisance) and503(criminalintimidation)oftheIPCandSection66AoftheITAct.

8. On Sept 8, Anoop Kundu, a journalist from Haryana's Hisar district wascharged with defamation and illegal trespassing by the police for a reportshowing themishandlingof grains at a government storage facility.AnFIRwasfiledagainsthimattheUklanapolicestationinHisardistrict.MrKunduwasinvestigatingirregularitiesattheStateFoodCivilSuppliesandConsumerAffairsDepartmentinUklana.Thecomplainant,AssistantFoodandSuppliesOfficerSandeepChahal,claimedthatthestorybythejournalistcarriedafakevideothathasbeenusedtodefamethedepartmentanditsofficials.

2020

1. OnFebruary10,theSupremeCourtrestrainedtheWestBengalPolicefromarresting television journalists Bhupendra Pratap Singh, Abhishek Singh,HemantChowrasiaandAyushKumarSinghwhowerebookedinasmanyasfivecasesaftertheyconductedastingoperationtoshowstateministersandTMCMLAsallegedlytakingbribes.ApartofthestingoperationwastelecastonTVchannelsand inprintmedia inKolkataon January5.The journalistswere given interim protection in one FIR on February 10 but policeregisteredanotherFIRthesameday.Soonafterthecourtpassedthisorder,two more FIRs were lodged against the journalists. On Feb 27, a benchheadedbyJusticeBhanumatigaveinterimprotectiontothejournalists.FreshFIRscompelledthejournaliststomovetheSupremeCourtyetagainandthejournalistssoughttransferoftheinvestigationtotheCBIandprotectionfromarrest for another journalist Umesh Kumar Sharma and authorizedrepresentativeoftheBanglaBharatNewsChannelAnilVijay.TherestrainingordersonthefreshFIRswereissuedonMay22.

2. OnFebruary 17, J&Kpolice conducted a nocturnal raid onKamranYousuf,photojournalistwithNewsClick,inhishomeinSrinagar.ApolicepartyledbyDeputy Superintendent of Police and SHO Pulwama took him in a policevehicletotheofficeofDSPandquestionedaboutsomeTwitteraccountusercalledKamranManzoor’.Policelethimgoafterafewhours.

3. OnMarch26,VaranasiDistrictMagistrate(DM),KaushalRajSharmaissuedanotice to journalists Vijay Vineet and Manish Mishra and editor-in-chiefSubhashRai of ‘JansandeshTimes’ after a report claiming thatmembersof


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the Musahar community (Dalit) were eating grass to survive at Koiripurvillage in Varanasi district ever since the lockdown was announced.Photographsofchildreneatinggrassaccompanied thereport. In thenotice,DMKaushalRajSharmastatedthathehadgotthematterinvestigatedbyanADM-level officer and established that the reportwas fabricated.He addedthattheDalitswerenoteatinggrassbutankaridal(wildpulses)thatgrowsalongwithwheatinthefields.Thejournalistsstoodbytheirreport.

4. On 27 March 2020, a case was registered by police against K.K.Saxena, ajournalist who had attended a press conference on 20 March by the thenChief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath, who was announcing hisresignation, despite the fact that Saxenaʼs daughter had returned from theUnited Kingdom two days previously. Both Saxena and his daughter latertestedpositiveforCOVID-19.ThecasewasregisteredunderIPCsections188(disobediencetoorderdulypromulgatedbypublicservant),269(negligentactlikelytospreadinfectionofdiseasedangeroustolife)and270(malignantactlikelytospreadinfectionofdiseasedangeroustolife).

5. OnMarch29, journalistOmSharmaofDivyaHimachal,was chargedunderArticle54oftheDisasterManagementAct,2005andundertheIPCbypoliceinBaddiinSolandistrictofHimachalPradeshforalivepostonFacebookonMarch29abouttheplightofmigrantworkers.OnApril26,asecondFIRwaslodgedagainsthimforpostingareportintheHindinewspaperAmarUjalaonhisFacebookpagethatsaidbusinesseswouldcloseifemployeesweretestedpositive forCovid-19.Thenextday, a thirdFIRwas lodgedagainsthim forcriticizingtheSolanadministrationforconfusionintherelaxationofcurfew.On his Facebook page, he asked if the administration thought peoplewere“kites”thatcanbe“swervedinanydirection”.HewasbookedunderSection188oftheIndianPenalCodeandSection66oftheInformationTechnologyAct,2000.

6. OnMarch30,anFIRwasregisteredagainstNews18HimachalreporterJagatBainsinNalagarh for “spreading rumours” thatmigrantworkerswere notgettingrations.OnApril23,hedidavideoreportthatprivatevehicleswerecrossingthesealedbordersofBaddithenightbefore.AnFIRlodgedsaidthat‘Press reporter Bains circulated videos of the administration without anyreason.Healsoviolatedlockdownguidelines.’AthirdFIRwaslodgedagainsthim for a report he filed from Sallewal village on April 25 wheremigrantworkers again told him that they were denied rations by a governmentsupplier.

7. An FIRwas registered against Dainik Bhaskar journalist Gauri Shankar forfilingastoryontheplightofmigrantworkersinKullu.Despitetheveracityofthereport,theareaSubDivisionalMagistrateaccusedhimofspreading“fakenews.”ThesecondFIRagainstSharmacameonApril26,whenhesharedareport from the Hindi daily Amar Ujala on Facebook. It claimed that thegovernmenthadorderedbusinessestoclosedownforafewmonthsincaseanyemployeetestedpositiveforthenovelcoronavirus.ThereportwastakendownfromtheAmarUjalawebsiteafterthegovernmentrubbisheditsclaiminatweet.AnFIRwasfiledagainstSharmaforsimplysharingthearticle.Hewas booked under Sections 182 and 188 of the Indian Penal Code, andSection 54 of the DisasterManagement Act. The third FIR was filed a daylater, on April 27. On April 23, Solan’s district magistrate had announced

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curfewrelaxationsbetween8amand11aminthe industrialareacoveringthreesubdivisionsofBaddi,BarotiwalaandNalagarh(locallyknownasBBN).WhenshopsraisedshuttersonApril24,thelocalpoliceforcefullyshutthemdown. The following day, the sub-divisional magistrate clarified that onlyshopssellingessentialitemscanopenduringtherelaxationhours.

8. On April 1, An FIR was lodged against The Wire and one of its foundingeditors, Siddharth Varadarajan, for allegedly posting false news about theparticipation of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a RamNavamicelebration in themidstofanation-wide lockdown.Thecomplaint,whichpickeduppartofanarticleabouttheAdityanathgovernment’splanstogoaheadwithreligiousgatheringsinAyodhyaandUPchiefminister’sownparticipation was widely reported in the media. A second FIR was lodgedsubsequently. Both FIRs do notmention ‘fake news’ or any tweet. The IPCsectionscitedinthefirstFIRwerefor“creatingorpromotingenmity,hatredorill-willbetweenclasses”and“disobediencetoorderdulypromulgatedbyapublicservant’while thesecondFIRpressedchargesunder twosectionsofthe IT Act dealing with impersonation and the transmission of obscenematerial.UPpolicedrovefromAyodhyainUttarPradeshtoDelhi,todeliversummonsrelatingtocomplaintsonApril11,thoughtherewasanationwidelockdownontravel.

9. OnApril6,web journalistPawanChaudharywasarrested inMunger,Biharfor allegedly spreading misinformation about the death of a COVID-19patient.HewassenttojudicialcustodyinjailinMunger,Bihar.ChaudharyisfromKeshopur locality, Jamalpur town under Jamalpur police station. SHO(Jamalpur) Ranjan Kumar said that Chaudhary had been found to bespreadingrumoursonsocialmedia.

10. OnApril7,TVjournalistDamodharanwasarrestedbypoliceandbrandeda‘fakejournalist’forshootingvisualsofpharmacystaffhandingoutmedicinesto patients without a doctor’s consultation at the Minjur Primary HealthCentreinMinjurinTamilNadu.AdoctorofthePHCfiledthepolicecomplaintagainst the journalist. The journalist was slapped with charges includingcheating,forgery,andpreventingapublicservantfromdischarginghisduty.

11. OnApril8,LucknowcitypoliceonTuesdaylodgedanFIRagainstjournalistPrashant Kanojia for making alleged “objectionable remarks” about PrimeMinisterNarendraModiandchiefministerYogiAdityanathonsocialmedia.Shashank Shekhar Singh, a local BJP leader, filed the complaint againstKanojiaattheAshianapolicestation.KanojiawasarrestedonAugust18andmanaged to secure bail onOct 21. Hewas finally released only onNov 6 ,afterspending80daysincustody.

12. Aspateof FIRswas lodgedagainst journalistAshwani Saini,whoproducesvideoreportsforhisFacebookpage‘MandiLive’.OnApril8,hewasbookedunder Section 88 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 54 of the DisasterManagementActforhisreportonthefailureoftheadministrationtosupplyrations tomigrantworkers inBharajwanoovillage.OnApril 13, threeFIRswere filedagainsthim for video reportsonbrickkilns thatwereoperatingdespite the lockdown inSundernagar.His carwas impounded thenextdayfor alleged curfew violation and another FIR was registered against himunderfifthFIRwasregisteredundertheMotorVehiclesActandSection188oftheIPC.


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13. OnApril11,MushtaqAhmadGanai(34years), journalistwiththeSrinagar-based English daily, Kashmir Observer, was arrested and detained for twodays at Sumbal police station in Bandipore district of Jammu and Kashmirwhen he went there to report the violation of the lockdown. The policeinterceptedhis cardespite showingdocuments includinghispress card.Atthepolicestation,theStationHouseOfficer(SHO)Muneeb-ul-Islamslappedhim several times and another policeman accompanying the SHO beat himwith his lathi. The police filed an FIR and booked him under chargesincluding“violatingthe lockdownrules”and“interferingintheprofessionalworkoftheofficials”.TheSHOalsothreatenedto“fix”him.Hewasreleasedonlyaftersecuringbailfromthecourt.

14. OnApril14,RahulKulkarni,Reporter,ABPMajha,wasarrestedoverareportontherecommencementoftrainsinBandra,whichpromptedmassgatheringof migrants in the suburb during the lockdown to contain COVID-19. HesecuredbailtwodayslaterandonJuly21,Mumbaipolicefileda‘C’summary‘closure’reportstatingthattherewasnoproofagainstKulkarniandhisnewsreportwasnottobeheldliableforthecrisis.ThepolicealsosaidthatitwasratheramisinterpretationofKulkarni'sreportthatledtothemishap.

15. On April 14, journalist AshlinMathew of The National Herald, Former IASofficer Kannan Gopinathan and senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, werebookedbyRajkot police for “posting and retweeting” a tweet onMarch28that allegedly “insulted a religion with intention to create fear or alarmamongpeople”.AnFIRwaslodgedatBhaktinagarpolicestationonApril12against themundersections295(injuringordefilingplaceofworshipwithintentiontoinsultthereligionofanyclass),5051(B)(intenttocausefearoralarm among public), 35 (acts done by several persons in furtherance ofcommonintention)and120B(criminalconspiracy)oftheIPC.Theoffendingtweet,postedonMarch28byPrashantBhushan,retweetedatweetbyUnionMinisterPrakashJavadekarwithhisphotosaying“Iamwatching‘Ramayana’,are you? (sic)” to which Bhushan commented “As crores starve and walkhundreds of miles home due to forced lockdown, our heartless ministerscelebrateconsumingand feeding theopiumofRamayanaandMahabharatatothepeople(sic)”.Bhushan’stweetwasallegedlyretweetedbyGopinathanandMathew, the FIR said. The complainant, identified as an army veteranCaptainJaidevJoshi,tookoffencetotheuseoftheword‘opium’inthetweet!According to the news report, VKGadhvi, officer in charge of Bhaktinagarpolice station, the case was transferred to the Rajkot Special OperationsGroup(SOG).ItisreportedthatJavadekardeletedhistweetsoonecanonlyhopethenewinvestigatingofficerwillincludetheentireoriginal1843quotebyphilosopherKarlMarxasadditionalevidence.

16. OnApril18, theCyberPoliceStation(KashmirZone) lodgedanFIRagainstphotojournalist Masrat Zahra under section 13 of the draconian UnlawfulActivities (Prevention) Act, and Sec 505 of the Indian Penal Code foruploading allegedly “anti-national” posts with the criminal intention toinducetheyouthandpromoteoffencesagainstpublictranquility.Nospecificpost was mentioned and the photojournalist was only identified as a‘Facebook user’ in the police press release. The case against Zahra ,shockingly under the draconian act that prevents those charged from evenapplyingforbailforupto90days,receivedwidespreadcondemnation.Zahra

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hadbeenfilingphotographsofKashmirunderthelockdownonherFacebookpage andhaddonea report on theplight ofArifa Jan, thewidowof amanwhowaskilledbytheIndiansecurityforcesin2000.

17. On April 21, The Hindu correspondent in Srinagar, Peerzada Ashiq, wasquestionedbytheCyberPoliceinSrinagarandlaterbytheAnantnagpolicefor his report “Kin allowed to exhume bodies of militants in Baramulla”published by The Hindu on April 19. Police said the news was ‘fake’ andregistered an FIR on April 20. Interestingly, the police press release alsoechoedthe‘annoyance’oftheauthoritiesthattheir‘version’wasnotsought:“The news was published without seeking confirmation from the districtauthorities,”thepressreleasesaid.

18. On April 22, journalist Gowhar Geelani was booked by the Cyber police,Srinagar,forallegedly‘indulginginunlawfulactivities’throughhispostsandwritings on social media. Cyber police, whichmerely identified him as ‘anindividual namely Gowhar Geelani’, said he was indulging in unlawfulactivitiesthroughhispostsandwritingsonsocialmediaplatformwhichareprejudicialtothenationalintegrity,sovereigntyandsecurityofIndia”.Again,none of these posts were specified. The press releases also deliberatelyrefusedtospecifytheprofessionofthejournalist,denyingthemtheagencyoftheirwork.

19. OnApril24,AndrewSamRajaPandian,adigitaljournalistandfounderofin,aCoimbatore-basednewssite,wasarrested forpublishing tworeports, thefirst about corruption in the government food distribution and the secondaboutproblemsfacedbydoctorsinthecity.Hewaschargedundersections188 and 505 (i) of the IPC and Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act.Pandian was released on bail on April 28. Initially, the reporter andphotographer of the reports under question, Jerald Aruldas and M Balaji,were detained and interrogated by police for over nine hours. In aninterview,Aruldassaid, “ThepolicedidnothurtmeorBalaji.Wewerenotinterrogated, just made to sit there for long hours. But it was still a veryintimidating experience. There is an air of fear in the local media. EverymediapersonisnowscaredofcoveringnewsrelatedtoCOVID-19.”

20. On April 24, following multiple FIRs lodged against editor-in-chief ofRepublic TV Arnab Goswami for alleged defamatory remarks on CongresschiefSoniaGandhiandthePalgharlynchingwhichtookplaceinMaharashtra,theSupremeCourtgrantedprotectiontoagainstanycoercivesteps.OnMay2, Mumbai Police lodged a fresh FIR against him for allegedly hurtingreligious sentiments by making derogatory remark regarding a mosquelocated in Bandra. Goswami again obtained extension of the interimprotectiongrantedbytheSupremeCourt.

21. OnApril26,NeerajShivhare,ajournalistbasedinDantewada,Chhattisgarh,wasgivenashowcausenoticebyasubdivisionalmagistrateforhisreportonhiswebsiteBastarKiAawazon the plight of awomanwhohad to sell herfridgetobuyrations.AccordingtoareportinNewslaundry,thenoticesays:“Thewholenationisdealingwiththepandemicandpublishingsuchpostscancreateanatmosphereoffearinthepublic.Theposthasdamagedtheimageoftheadministration,thereforethisactionofyourshasdisregardedtheorderofadministration and comes under the category of punishable offence.” Thenoticesaidthestorywas‘misleading’butasthereportlaterpointedout,the


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storywastrue.Asupportingvideoaswellasthequotesfromthewomanandher husband confirm that it was only after the story broke that theadministration woke up to their plight and made arrangements to supplythemwithmilkforthechild.

22. On April 27, journalist Zubair Ahmed posted a tweet that posed a simplequestiontotheAndamansadministration:Cansomeoneexplainwhyfamiliesare placed under home quarantine for speaking over phone with Covidpatients?AhmedwasreferringtoareportinthewebsiteAndamanChronicleabout a family of fourwhowere put into homequarantine because one ofthem,70-year-oldKARehman,calleduparelativewhohadtestedpositivefor Covid-19 to enquire about his health. For questioning the authorities,Ahmedwas arrested u/s 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated bypublic servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of diseasedangerous to life) and 505 (1) (publishing or circulating any statement,rumour or report) of the Indian Penal Code. If that was not enough, theAndamans administration also threw Sections 51 and 54 of the DisasterManagementAct,2005,athim.Hemanagedtosecurebailthenextday.

23. OnApril10,VishalAnand,areporterforAajTak,hastwoFIRsagainsthim,both registered on the complaint of Dalhousie SDM Dr Murari Lal, saidChambaSPDrMonika.TheSDMallegedthatAnandfalselyshowedvisualsofDalhousieinareportonCOVIDcasesinChamba,andallegedthatvehiclesformedical supplies were being used to bring the virus from Pathankot inPunjab. The second FIRwas registered afterAnandmade comments on anonlineportalthattheSDMshowedfavouritisminissuingcurfewpasses.

24. OnApril30,Lucknow-basedjournalistManishPandeyofHindinewschannelNews1India,wassummoned(withoutservinganotice) to theSpecialTaskForceheadquartersinLucknow,UttarPradesh, inconnectionwithhisstoryof April 17, about a letter sent by the Directorate General of MedicalEducationandTraining,UttarPradesh,tobureaucratsinthestate’smedicaleducationdepartment onApril 13 that PPEkits supplied to eight hospitalsandmedicalcollegesinthestatedidnotmeetrequiredqualitystandards.On1May, assistant superintendent of policeVishal VikramSingh interrogatedPandeyfornearlyanhourregardingthesourceoftheleakedofficialletter.

25. OnMay7,KeralaPolicefiledanFIRagainsteditor-in-chiefofZeeNewsandprime-time show host of Daily News And Analysis (DNA) on Zee News,SudhirChaudharyundernon-bailable sections forpresenting aprogrammeonMarch11thatwasallegedlyoffensivetotheMuslimreligionwhereinhebroadcast a so-called “jihad chart” detailing different “types of jihad” in aflowchart.

26. May 9: An FIR was lodged against Lalit Pokhrel, administrator of the ʻAllSikkim Newsʼ Facebook page, Bishnu Dulal and the Editor-in-Chief of ʻAllSikkim Newsʼ for reporting onmismanagement of quarantine centres. TheFIR was filed by Hemant Rai, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Pakyong inconnectionwithaFacebookpostbyPokhrelontheconditionofJNVSchoolinPakyongEastSikkim,whichhasbeenturnedintoaquarantinefacilitycentreby the government.A casewas filed against Pokhrel under Section505(2),188and34oftheIPC.

27. May 10: Delhi police summoned Delhi based Indian Express reporterMahenderSinghManralforquestioningoverhisnewsreportsaboutforensic

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evidence that audio clips of Tablighi Jamaat chiefMaulana SaadKandhalvi,weredoctored.TheaudioclipisthebasisofacasefiledagainsttheleaderofTablighiJamaat,aMuslimreligiousgroup,forthespreadofCOVID-19inthecapital New Delhi. After calling the report “factually incorrect and purelyconjectural,“thepolicesentanoticetoManraltojointheprobeonMay11orfaceactionunderIndianPenalCodeSection174.

28. May11,2020:DhavalPatel,editorofFaceofNation,aGujaratinewswebsite,was arrested on charges of sedition for publishing a report that allegedGujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani may be replaced for mishandling theCovid-19 response. He spent nearly 15 days in custody and managed toobtainbailonMay27afteranadditionalsessionsjudgePreranaCChauhansaidthatprimafacie,noseriousoffencewasmadeoutagainsthim.OnNov6,an On Nov 6, an order by Justice R P Dholaria of the Gujarat High Courtquashed the proceedings against him after he tendered an unconditionalapology.

29. May 14: Police began investigations against Gulshan Kumar Mithu, ajournalist with Dainik Bhaskar, in connection with his report in DainikBhaskaronMay12regardingprotestsbymigrantworkersinagovernmentquarantinefacilityaboutpoorfoodandlivingconditions.PoliceallegedthatMithuviolatedfoursectionsoftheIPC,includingunlawfulassembly,violatinginstructionsofpublicofficialsduringapandemic,andactingnegligentlyinawaylikelytospreadinfectionordisease.

30. OnMay 16, Himachal Pradesh police filed an FIR against Somdev Sharma,Manali-based correspondent for Punjab Kesari, after he reported on theadministration’s laxity in quarantining inter-state travelers. Police allegedthat Sharma had falsely written in his report that a person entered thedistrictillegallywithoutapassandhencecreatedpanic.

31. OnMay16,MaharashtraPolicefiledanFIRagainstRahulZori,reporterwithTV9Marathinewschannel,forhisreportoncorruptionintherunningoftheHadakhed relief camp for migrants in Shirpur tehsil, Dhule district ofMaharashtra. The tehsildar, Aaba Mahajan filed the FIR alleging that thereporterhaddefamedhimandtriedtoobstructofficialworkbyquestioninghim.

32. May18,2020:FIRfiledagainstToday24newsjournalistRavindraSaxenabyUttar Pradesh police for his video report on the mismanagement of aquarantine centre in Maholi Tehsil in theSitapur district ofUttarPradesh. Saxena’s report said that people in a quarantine centre hadcomplainedaboutthequalityofriceservedtothembytheUPadministration.He was charged under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and the DisasterManagementActreportedly on an order fromUttar Pradesh ChiefMinisterYogiAdityanath.

33. On May 18, Uttar Pradesh police lodged an FIR against Aashish Avasthi,editor,MediaBreak,onpublicationofanewsitemregardingproblemsbeingfacedbyHomeGuardsduringCOVID-19.Taking suomoto cognizance overthis, the Press Council of India sought a report from the Uttar Pradeshgovernment.

34. OnMay22,PunjabPolicefiledacaseagainstJaiSinghChibber,reporterwiththe Punjabi Jagran newspaper, under Sections 188 and 505 of the IPC(disobeying a public official and making statements which incite the


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commissionofanoffence),andSection67AoftheITAct(obscenity)forhisreport about Congress minister Charanjit Channi for following thesuggestionsofastrologers.

35. May23:SishilSharma,editorofBastarBandhu,wasarrestedandanFIRwasregistered against him in connection with his reporting on corruption inKanker, Chhattisgarh. Sharmawas later released on a personal bondofRs.5000.

36. On May 24, Madhya Pradesh Police filed a case against senior journalistTansen Tiwari, for allegedly referring to Bharatiya Janata Party leaders asgappu(braggart)andtadipar(externed)inasocialmediapost.ABJPleaderand advocate, Awdesh SinghBhadauria, filed a complaintwith the GolaKaMandir police station that the journalist’s post on Facebook indirectlydescribedPrimeMinisterNarendraModias ‘gappu’andotherpartyleadersas‘tadipar’and‘balatkari‘(rapist).ThoughTiwari’ssocialmediapost,didnotnameanyBJP leader,hewasbookedunderIPCsections294(publicactsofobscenity) and 500 (defamation) and section 67 of the InformationTechnology Act (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronicform).

37. May 24: Basant Sahu, a reporter with a vernacular daily, was allegedlyarrested for asking a Deputy Commissioner about COVID-19 cases andcirculating his response. Sahu had asked Seraikela-Kharsawan DeputyCommissionerA.DoddeaboutthefirstCOVID-19caseinthedistrict.HeaskedDodde toconfirm if therewereanyCOVID-19cases in Ichagarh,butDoddeallegedly denied this and told Sahu to go to bed. Sahu recorded theconversationandthencirculatedDoddeʼsresponseinthenewsandonsocialmedia.SahuwasarrestedandsenttoSaraikeladivisionaljail.Heisnowoutonbail.

38. On June 6, Delhi Police registered an FIR against journalist Vinod Dua forallegedlyspreadingfakenews,misreportingontheDelhicommunalviolenceand stating that the "central government had done nothing to stop theviolence".onthecomplaintofBJPspokespersonNaveenKumar.AcasewasregisteredunderIPCsections290(punishment forpublicnuisance incasesnot otherwise provided for) and 505 (statements conducing to publicmischief)and505(2)(statementscreatingorpromotingenmity,hatredorill-willbetweenclasses),policesaid.OnJune12,anotherFIRwasregisteredbyHimachalPradeshpoliceonchargesofseditiononthecomplaintofoneAjayShyamVill inKumarsainpolicestation.DuaapproachedtheSupremeCourttoquashthecharge.TheSupremeCourtreserveditsorderonOct6.

39. June 11: Bengaluru police filed a case against journalist Aakar Patel inconnection with tweets that allegedly suggested that members ofmarginalized groups in India should emulate protests in the United Statesagainst police brutality and themurder of George Floyd in police custody.Patel had posted video clips of the protests in the United States, askingMuslims, Dalit, Adivasis andwomen in India to also protest. A week later,TwitterblockedPatelʼsaccount inIndia.TheBengaluruPolicebookedPatelundersections505(1)(b),153and117oftheIndianPenalCode.ThesecondFIRwasfiledon3JulybyaBharatiyaJanataPartyMLAinSuratWest,GujaratandpresidentofSamastGujaratiModhvanikSamajPurneshModiinrelationtoPatelʼs tweetsabout theGhanchicommunity,whichhepostedon24and

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27June,allegedlyconnectingthecommunitytotheSabarmatitraincarnageinGodhra,27February,2002.Patelisaccusedof“promotingenmitybetweendifferent groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence,language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”throughhisTwitterposts.ThecomplainantmentionedthreeofPatelʼstweetsintheFIRandusedaderogatorytermtorefertoblackpeople.

40. July 6: Jubilee Hills police in Hyderabad arrested newspaper AaadabTelangana editor Veeramalla Satyam, sub-editor Shiva and reporterVenkateshwaraRao fromKhammamdistrict on charges of publishing falsenews and spreading rumours that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Raotestedpositiveforcoronavirusandisadmittedinacorporatehospital.Basedon a complaint, Mohammed Illyas of Rahmathnagar in Jubilee Hills, policeregisteredacaseunderSection505(whoevermakes,publishesorcirculatesany rumour or report) of Indian Penal Code and Section 54 of DisasterManagementAct,againstthepublicationandtheeditor.

41. July 8: The head of the Lawsohtun village council in Meghalaya, LurshaiShylla, has filed a complaint against Patricia Mukhim, editor of ShillongTimes,forasocialmediapostallegingitcould"incitecommunaltension".InaFacebookpost,Mukhimraisedconcernsaboutthe"murderouselements"intheassaultcaseoffiveboysonabasketballcourtinLawsohtunvillageofEastKhasiHillsbyagroupofmaskedmenonJuly3.Inthecomplaint,ShyllasaidPatriciaMukhimmentionedthe1979conflictbetweentribalsandnon-tribalsin her Facebook post. Lurshai Shylla alleged that Patricia Mukhim'scommentsgave fodder to somemediahouses inWestBengal thatgave theincidentacommunalcolourandputallKhasisoutside thestate inextremedanger,thecomplainantadded.

42. July 18: Rajib Sharma, a television journalist who has been reporting onillegalcattlesmuggling inDhubri,Assam,wasarrestedbyDhubripolice forallegedly obstructing a public servant in his duties, extortion and criminalintimidationonanFIRfiledbyDhubridivisionalforestofficerBishwajtRoy.Hoursafterhisarrest,hisailingfatherdiedofacardiacarrestbroughtaboutbytheshock.Sharmawasgrantedthreedaysinterimbailtoperformthelastrites.

43. July 31: Srinagar Cyber police detained The Kashmiriyat editor QaziShibliwithoutascribinganyreasonsforthedetention.Accordingtoastatementbythenewspaper,Shiblihadgotthreatcallsfromunknownnumbersregardingoneof thestories.Hehadreportedthe incidenttotheLocalPoliceofficials.Lastyear,ShibliwasdetainedunderthedraconianPublicSafetyActforninemonths inBareilly JailofUttarPradesh,Central India,afterhehad tweetedinformation about the deployment of additional troops in Jammu andKashmirinthelastweekofJuly2019.On5August2019,theGovernmentofIndiarevokedJ-K’sspecialstatusandclampeddownintheValleyforseveralmonths. Shibli’s PSA detention was revoked on 13 April 2020, as the jailsacrossthecountrydecongestedamidtheCOVID-19pandemic.

44. Sept 8: Uttar Pradesh police booked five journalists in Bijnor on Friday onchargesofcirculatingfakenewsreports.InanFIRfiledbytheBijnorpolice,twojournalists,oneworkingwithalocaldailyandanotherengagedwithanelectronic news channel, have been named, along with three unidentifiedreporters.TheFIRsaidthatAshishTomarandShakilAhmedtriedtovitiate


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socialamitybycirculatingfakenewsaboutaValmiki familyfromTitarwalaBasi village underMandwar police station putting ‘house on sale’ on theirhouseafternotbeingallowedtocollectwaterfromthevillagehandpumpbyaninfluentialDalitfamilyfromthesamevillage.

45. Sept14:DelhiPolicearrested freelance journalistRajeevSharmaunder theOfficialSecretsAct(OSA)forallegedlypassingon“sensitiveinformation”toChineseintelligence.Twoofhisassociates,includingaChinesewomanandaNepaleseman,havealsobeenarrested.SharmahadearlierworkedwithTheTribunenewspaper andwas associatedwith the Vivekananda InternationalFoundation(VIF),a thinktankwhosefoundingdirector isNationalSecurityAdviser(NSA)AjitDoval.Followinghisarrest,awebpagelinkinghisworktotheVIFhasbeenremoved.Sharmawasalsoanaccreditedjournalist.OnDec4,SharmawasgranteddefaultbailbytheDelhiHighCourt,afterpolicefailedtofileachallanwithinthemandatory60days.

46. Sept20:KishorchandraWangkhem,reporterfortheregionalnewsportalTheFrontier Manipur, was arrested on 20 September on charges of sedition,criminal intimidation and “promoting enmity between different groups”under articles 124, 154 and 503 of India’s penal code after he posted acomment on his Facebook page on 3 September aboutwhether the onlinedisputecouldhaveelectoralconsequencesfortheministerbecausehiswifeis from aminority tribal community, theMaram, who are nonetheless themajority in his electoral district, Senapati, whereas the other woman is amemberoftheMeitei,themajorityethnicgroupinManipurasawhole.

47. October 2: Lucknow-based freelance journalist Asad Rizvi, filed a policecomplaint against policemen who beat him up while he was on anassignment. Rizvi said he was reporting from an important protest site inLucknow,whichfeaturesaprominentstatueofMKGandhi,whenpolicemenaskedhimtostopandassaultedhim.Hesaidthepolicethenconfiscatedhismemorycardwithfootageoftheviolence.

48. Oct5: SiddiqueKappan, aDelhi-based journalistwhoworks forMalayalamnewsportalAzhimukham,wasonhiswaytoHathrastoreportthegangrapeofaDalitgirlwhenhewaspickedup inMathuraonchargesofattempts tospread disharmony. Three others accompanied him. All of themwere laterbookedunderSection17oftheUnlawfulActivities(Prevention)Act.Deniedbail,heisstillincustody.

49. Oct 18, Delhi Police detained Ahan Penkar, a journalist from Caravanmagazine and charged him and nine others of criminal conspiracy forallegedlyprotestingoutsideModelTownpolicestation.Sixofthe10accusedare students. The protest was staged by students, activists and locals ofGurmandidemandinglodgingofanFIRintotheallegedrapeandmurderofateenageDalitgirl—adomestichelperwhowasfounddeadatheremployer’shouseinModelTown.ThepolicehaveregisteredanFIRunderSections188(disobediencetoorderdulypromulgatedbypublicservant),120B(criminalconspiracy), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of diseasedangeroustolife)and270(malignantactlikelytospreadinfectionofdiseasedangeroustolife)oftheIndianPenalCode,andSection3oftheEpidemicAct.

50. Dec1:Gujaratpolice registeredanFIRagainst three reporters,PritipalsibhGohil, Mahedrasinh Jadeja and a photographer, Prakash Ramesh, whoconducteda ‘sting’operation inconnectionwitha fireat theIntensiveCare

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UnitofadesignatedCovid-19hospitalinRajkotinNovemberthatkilledfivepatients. Police alleged the reporters and photographer entered theprohibited lockup room without seeking permission. The journalistspublishedareportinDivyaBhaskardailynewspaperonDecember2allegingthat the three suspects arrested in connection with the hospital fire weregivenspecialtreatmentandheldinthepolicestaffroominsteadoftheusualcell.Thereportincludedphotosofthecellandthepolicestation.TheFIRwasregisteredunder114and186IPC,fortheobstructionofapublicservantindischargeofpublicfunctionsandthepresenceofanabettorwhentheoffencewascommitted,aswellastheprovisionsoftheInformationTechnologyAct.Thedocumentaccusedthe journalistsofdisplaying“secretpoliceworks” inprintandonline.

51. Dec 11: Three journalists, Fayaz Lolu of ETV Bharat, Mudasir Qadri ofNews18UrduandJunaidRafiqofTV9weredetainedandassaultedbypoliceled by SSP Sandeep Chaudhary when covering the District DevelopmentCouncilpolls inAnantnaginSouthKashmir.Thethreesaidtheirequipmentwasalsoseizedanddamagedbypolice.Theywereinterviewingacandidatewhen some local voters approached them, saying they had been stoppedfrom going to the polling station in Srigufwara area of Anantnag district.Somepeoplenear thepollingboothhadstartedprotestingwhennopollingtookplacetill8am,eventhoughofficially,itwastobeginat7am.Nosoonerhad they finished recording the interview when SSP Sandeep Chaudharycamethereandbeganbeatingthemup.Thejournalistsweretakentoapolicestationanddetainedforacoupleofhours.

Sources

1. FreeSpeechinIndia-TheHoot:Annualreports2014,2015,2016and20172. https://twitter.com/4corners/status/913640041125052417,Sept29,20173. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=may0918/at0584. https://www.bhadas4media.com/vishal-anand-samet-3-ke-khilaf-case-darz/5. FreeSpeechinIndia2018:TheStateRollsOn,Dec31,20206. MedialockdownintheageofCovid-19,May3,20207. Gettingawaywithmurder,StudyonthekillingsofandattacksonjournalistsinIndia,2014–

2019,andjusticedeliveryinthesecases,Dec20198. HimachalPradesh’s journalistsfaceFIRs,harassmentforreportingongovernmentfailures,

May12,20209. SurgeinharassmentofIndianreportersovercoronaviruscoverage,May27,202010. India:Media’sCrackdownDuringCOVID-19Lockdown,June15,202011. HarassmentandcasesagainstjournalistsduringCOVID19,May15-July10,202012. J&KtoKerala,Gujarat,Bengal—JournalistsacrossIndiafacepoliceaction,evenfortweets,

Oct26,202013. HimachalPradesh:10FIRsAgainst6JournalistsForReports,PostsonLockdown14. https://caravanmagazine.in/media/up-journalist-asad-rizvi-recounts-police-brutality-says-

state-trying-to-dictate-stories15. TheWages ofHate: Journalism inDarkTimes, CampaignAgainstHate Speech, September,

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AcknowledgementsResearchAssistance:SaritaRamamoorthyManythankstoSevantiNinanandLaxmiMurthyfortheirinputs.

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The Free Speech Collective, comprising journalists, lawyers and activists, aims toprotect the right to freedomof expression and to vigorously promote free speechandtherighttodissent.Wemonitoranddocumentviolationsoffreespeech,debateissuesandanalysemajordevelopmentsthatimpactFreedomofExpression.Wealsoseektoprovidesolidarityandsupporttothosewhofaceattacksontheirfreedomofexpression.

Formoredetails,pleasewriteto:

[email protected]

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Behind Bars- Arrests of Journalists in India 2010-20...[BEHIND BARS: ARREST AND DETENTION OF JOURNALISTS 2010-20] 3 3 In 2020, three journalists were killed due to their professional