The Last Laugh
Political cartoonists keep the system honest. They chip away at the hubris of those in power by laughing at them.
Sedition cases : 2021
Aisha Sultana granted interim anticipatory bail by Kerala High Court
Siddique Kappan : “Still have faith in Constitution but this case is fake”
Kerala journalist Siddique Kappan, arrested on Oct 5 by Uttar Pradesh police and charged under sedition and UAPA sections, found some relief when the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Maant, Ram Datt Ram, dropped charges of breach of peace against him and three others. The judge said that police had […]
The Wire: Repeated FIRs criminalise reportage that is contrary to official version
Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police have lodged an FIR against social media network Twitter, news portal The Wire, journalists Rana Ayyub and Saba Naqvi, Congress politicians Shama Mohamed, Salman Nizami and Maskoor Usmani and Alt news co-founder Mohammed Zubair for tweeting a horrific video of the beard of an […]
Siddique Kappen Case: A Betrayal of Justice
Nine months on, the Hathras rape case is itself almost forgotten and even the UP government’s abject failure in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic has receded from national headlines. Will there be any justice for journalist Siddique Kappen, who awaits a plea for bail to come up before […]
New Delhi Rapper MC Kode goes missing : fallout of hate speech and death threats
MC Kode aka Aditya Tiwari, a New Delhi based rapper has been missing since June 2nd, 2021, after receiving death threats for an old battle rap clip that went viral. His Instagram post hinting at suicide was disturbing and alarming but right-wing trolls continued to bay for his […]
Pandemic, the Press and the New Digital Order
An Overview. Excerpted from the South Asia Press Freedom report – 2021 (Released on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2021. Please click here to read the full report) As the second wave of the Covid pandemic surged across South Asia in early 2021, journalists […]
Pandemic gives Indian govt opportunity to clamp down on the media: IFJ report
The year was marked by the heavy-handed use of laws of sedition, anti-terror or disaster management to quell criticism of the government whether at the Centre or in states, on journalists or civil society. This clampdown on journalists was marked during the ongoing peaceful farmers’ protest against three farms laws that has left the government more than rattled.
Here are the tweets the Indian Government censored during the pandemic
The tweets Twitter blocked. Inexplicable, since several images have been published in mainstream media, reproduced and shared across multiple platforms. Censorship by the government or by pliant social media platforms won’t make these images, or the reality they depict, go away. They’ve been compiled here and posted on […]
Bombay HC quashes Sakal Media Group FIR against journalist : No violation of trademark
The Bombay High Court has quashed an FIR against journalist Prateek Goyal alleging trademark violation in an article filed in Newslaundry on the decision of the Sakal group in Pune to sack over fifty staffers of the Sakal Times. The court held that mere use of the registered […]
NHRC closes complaint on arrest of Siddique Kappan
Predictably, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has closed the complaint on the arrest of journalist Siddique Kappan, jailed since October 5, 2020. Kappan, also the secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWF), was on his way to Hathras in Uttar Pradesh (UP), to cover the […]
Media, Democracy and Democratic Institutions: Challenges of our Times
Anuradha Bhasin Jamwal, Executive Editor, Kashmir TImes, delivered the 40th J.P Memorial lecture on March 23, 2020. The prestigious memorial lecture marks the day Emergency was lifted in India. In her lecture, she gives a panoramic view of the events that have occurred since the Modi regime took […]
PCI issues warrant for arrest of Vijaya Karnataka editor
In a major development in an ongoing hearing on a complaint against an inflammatory report, the Press Council of India (PCI) issued a bailable warrant for the arrest of the editor of daily newspaper Vijay Karnataka for failing to respond to a summons. The hearing was held on […]
Curbs on social media are meant to gag the people
(republished with permission) By Pramod Ranjan (Note: The notification of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 have far-reaching implications for freedom of expression on the Internet and will, in the name of regulation by a three-tier mechanism overseen by government officials, […]
PUCL :Stop the Witch Hunt! Drop all false & motivated Cases
PUCL statement on case against environmental activists Stop the Witch Hunt! Drop all false & motivated Cases Respect the fundamental right of free speech, dissent, assembly and association!! The PUCL welcomes the order of the Delhi Sessions Court on 23.2.21, granting bail to Disha Ravi, a 21 year […]
Instead of criminalizing young environmental activists, talk to them!
Prominent citizens, including artists, environmental and social activists, parents, teachers, professionals, adivasis, dalits and farmers, today spoke out against the illegal and disproportionate response of the government in targeting young activists, including Disha Ravi, and the government’s intent to criminalise dissent. At a press conference organised by the […]
Shocking detention of climate change activist by Delhi police for sharing an advocacy ‘toolkit’!
To imply that toolkits are some conspiracy gizmos used by foreign forces to destabilize India is as stupid as the ‘Cow was abducted by aliens’ rubbish that was aired by the same mainstream media channels that are now airing this nonsense. This controversy is baseless and has no merit.
Today’s special in Censorship Nation: Twitter India blocks multiple accounts
If Twitter India continues in this vein, perhaps it will also see the kind of mass migration to Signal or Telegram that Whatsapp experienced a few weeks ago, following its restrictive and unilateral privacy policy. Media users need plural media platforms. That’s one way of ensuring that free speech is protected.
Case against editors Mrinal Pande, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Rajdeep Sardesai and Caravan owners: Fresh attack on free speech
By Geeta Seshu The right to Freedom of Expression in India has been under attack from multiple directions, the latest being the sedition case cases filed by the police in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka against Congress-I MP, Shashi Tharoor, Caravan owner Paresh Nath and senior […]
Munawar Faruqui’s Bail plea rejected. Judge says more ‘incriminating’ evidence may be collected!
Justice Rohit Arya of the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected the bail plea of stand up comedian Munawar Faruqui and said that the ‘possibility of collection of more incriminating material andcomplacency of other persons cannot also be ruled out.’ Munawar Faruqui and five […]
Unabated Attacks: Journalist Neha Dixit faces stalking, threats and attempted break in
By Geeta Seshu Journalist Neha Dixit was no stranger to online trolling but for the last five months, the harassment took an even more sinister turn, with callers stalking her, calling up on her phone from random numbers to issue rape and death threats and also attempt to […]
Munawar Faruqui: Chronicle of an Unjustified Arrest
Twenty-five days after he was arrested on the charge that he could crack a joke that someone would find objectionable, comedian Munawar Faruqui and five of his friends and colleagues await a decision from the Madhya Pradesh High Court on a bail application. The entire case against the […]
Arrest warrant against Paranjoy Guha Thakurta: Punitive and Intimidatory
The extensive use of criminal defamation to censor and silence journalists has become the norm and strikes a blow against freedom of expression. Despite several attempts, it continues to remain in the statute books, a handy tool to browbeat journalists.
Nothing ‘seditious’ about this!
In yet another example of the excessive and censorious use of sedition, Manipur police have arrested the executive editor of The Frontier Manipur (TFM) Paojel Chaoba for publishing an article that was actually critical of revolutionary movements in the state. Sedition, which comes under Sec 124 A of […]
Vague, arbitrary, unconstitutional, outdated: 9 reasons why journalists are challenging the Contempt of Courts Act
Republished from Indian Journalism Review, Jan 13, 2021. The constitutional validity of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, has been challenged in the Karnataka High Court by Krishna Prasad, former Editor-in-Chief of Outlook; N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu and director of The Hindu Publishing Group; Arun […]
Behind Bars: Arrests and Detentions of Journalists in India 2010-2020
A sharp rise in criminal cases lodged against journalists in India for their work, with a majority of cases in BJP-ruled states, has contributed to the deterioration in the climate for free speech in India.
Why has WhatsApp blocked activist Dev Desai from its service?
Dev Desai, well known social activist from Gujarat, was in for a shock this afternoon when WhatsApp sent him a message that he was blocked from using their service! Totally clueless as to why the popular messaging service took this extreme step, Desai took to Twitter to let […]
NWMI to Kerala govt: Don’t shoot off women’s shoulders
The statement by the Network of Women in Media India (NWMI) on the Kerala government’s ill-advised, and now withdrawn, ordinance to introduce a new and draconian section to the Kerala Police Act, makes a very important point: Such measures only encourage over-reach of law enforcement agencies, potentially curb […]
Hands Off Our Classrooms
A statement of support by Atindriyo Chakraborty. Republished with permission from Countercurrents, Nov 15, 2020 Shilpa Singh is a 31-year-old professor of Political Sciences in VM Salgaocar College of Law, Goa (VMSCL). Since June 2019, she has been teaching this discipline to students of the BA-LLB Course that […]
Dhaval Patel: “Its shameful that nothing can be done about sedition cases.”
The apology filed by journalist Dhaval Patel that resulted in an order from the Gujarat High Court to quash a sedition charge against him only underlines the need to repeal an unjust, unfair and redundant law. Patel, the Ahmedabad-based editor of a news web portal called ‘Face Of […]
“Tumhe nahi pata hai ki desh badal gaya hai?” – Griha Mantriji, we await your answer
by Geeta Seshu The chilling account in the Caravan on the beating up of journalist Ahan Penkar on Oct 16, by Ajay Kumar, the assistant commissioner of police of Model Town, inside the premises of the police station, has this paragraph: Other police officials participated in the assault […]
Gagging the Media in Cases of Sexual Assault and Harassment
The rising incidence of gag orders by various powerful accused men in sexual assault and harassment cases has been of immense concern, especially because of the manner in which it shields them and further victimises the victims/complainants in these cases. A statement from the Network of Women in […]
Justice Madan Lokur: Gradual erosion of right to free speech leading to destruction of right to dissent
Justice Madan Lokur, former justice of the Supreme Court of India, delivered the Verghese Memorial Lecture 2020 on “Preserving and Protecting our Fundamental Rights – Freedom of Speech, Expression and the Right to Protest.” Justice Lokur said that one of the worst forms of curtailment of the freedom […]
Journalists write to C’garh CM : Demand action against attackers of Kamal Shukla and others
More than 14 days since the attack on journalist Kamal Shukla and other journalists in Chhattisgarh, no action has been taken against the perpetrators. Kamal Shukla, who went on a hunger strike in Kanker to protest the attack and the lack of action, was forcibly admitted to hospital […]
Prashant Kanojia arrest: UP admin silences dissenting voices, says statement
Clear that the arrest and detention of Kanojia is politically motivated and driven by vendetta. It fits a larger pattern of Uttar Pradesh administration attempting to silence dissenting voices.
Statement by Prashant Bhushan
I have gone through the judgment of this Hon’ble Court. I am pained that I have been held guilty of committing contempt of the Court whose majesty I have tried to uphold — not as a courtier or cheerleader but as a humble guard – for over three […]
Sedition cases : 2020
A year-wise listing of sedition cases filed under Sec 124-A, with the latest status. Reproduced with permission from the Repeal Sedition campaign.* 2020 1. Jan 8, 2020, students Nalini Balakumar and S Maridevaiah, also organizer of an anti-CAA protest, charged with sedition. Case details: Nalini was arrested for […]
