Lawfare, Summons/Notices – Journalists

Journalist Ravindra Saxena  was sued on May 18 under the Prevention of Atrocities Act and  the Disaster Management Act  in an order from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for a video report on the  mismanagement of a quarantine centre in Maholi Tehsil in the  Sitapur district of  Uttar Pradesh. People kept in the quarantine centre had complained that the UP administration was serving rotten rice.

The FIR against Saxena is one in a series of cases launched against journalists for their critical report of the government’s poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier, Dhaval Patel, the editor of Gujarati Face of Nation news website, was arrested on May 11 and charged with sedition for publishing a report that alleged Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani may be replaced for mishandling the Covid-19 response.

Similarly, on May 10, Delhi police summoned Delhi based Indian Express reporter Mahender Singh Manral for questioning over his news reports about the alleged doctoring of an audio clip attributed to Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad. Also, during the lockdown, Himachal Pradesh’s journalists faced FIRs and harassment for allegedly violating the Indian Penal Code and the Disaster Management Act for their coverage during the Covid-19 lockdown.