Two months’ interim protection from arrest for The Wire journalists; SC asks them to approach HC to quash 3 UP FIRs by The Leaflet https://www.theleaflet.in/two-months-interim-protection-from-arrest-for-the-wire-journalists-sc-asks-them-to-approach-hc-to-quash-3-up-firs/
September 8, 2021
Supreme Court Wednesday granted two months of interim protection from any coercive action against the digital media portal The Wire and three of its journalists in the three separate First Information Reports(FIR) in districts Rampur, Barabanki and Ghaziabad.
The petitioners contended that if the routine duty of journalism becomes easily vulnerable to the criminal process, democratic institutions will suffer.
“By the very lodging of such FIRs, media persons become embroiled in a process of seeking anticipatory bail, dealing with summons to attend police stations far away from their place of work, dealing with the threat of non-bailable warrants etc. – all for writing on, reporting, and commenting on current affairs. The process becomes the punishment”, the plea said.