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ExploreFree Speech TrackerTrack Violations across Categories, States & Years

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The Free Speech Tracker is a database that records free speech violations in India across various categories. Tracked violations can be searched across categories, states or years. Categories covered include Arrests, Attacks, Censorship, Harassment, Internet Control, Killings, Lawfare, Policies/Regulations, and Threats.

Please visit the About Us page for a guide to free speech violations tracked by FSC,

Numbers are liable to change and violations may be reclassified in case of discrepancies in reporting or updates due to developments in ongoing cases. In case of updates or corrections and to report free speech violations, please contact us.

[Note: The data included currently is for 2025 as updates for previous years is under process. For details of previous years, please go to the Reports section.]

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Threats

Reporter in UP Faces Threats for Questioning CM

State: Uttar Pradesh

Year: 2026

Date: September 13, 2026

After Delhi Attack on Journalists,Reporter in UP Faces Threats for Questioning CM

Journalist Divya Srivastava says she was heckled by BJP supporters and targeted online after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath left a Lucknow press meet without taking questions

A woman journalist in Lucknow has alleged that she received online abuse and threats after questioning Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, an incident that comes barely days after two women journalists alleged assault and detention by Delhi Police in the national capital.

The incident in Lucknow took place on Saturday (September 11), at a press conference at the BJP state office, according to multiple reports.

Independent journalist Divya Srivastava said Chief Minister Adityanath addressed the media and left without taking questions. In a video that has since gone viral, she is heard saying from the back of the hall, “Mukhyamantri ji sawal ka jawab dijiye? Press vartha hai yeh. Press ka jawab nahi de pa rahein hain aap, bataye! Press conference ke liye bulaya kis liye tha? Aapki awaaz uthane ke liye, aapki apni baat sunne ke liye.(Chief Minister sir, please answer. This is a press conference. You are unable to answer the press! Were we called to the press conference to just listen to you? To raise your voice and to make your own point heard)?”

Divya Srivastava told media persons that as she was leaving, a group of self-proclaimed BJP supporters surrounded her, questioned which channel she represented and shouted at her. She said a campaign was subsequently launched online portraying her as being planted by the Opposition Samajwadi Party or Congress.

Dismissing the claims, she said she is an independent journalist and that attempts were being made to create a distorted narrative around her questions.

Opposition leaders have alleged that Divya Srivastava was later questioned by the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) and threatened by BJP workers with bulldozer action. These claims are based on the journalist’s statements and unverified social media posts and have not been independently confirmed by police.

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Censorship

Anuparna Roy’s Venice-winning debut film faces India ban

State: Applicable Across India

Year: 2026

Date: September 13, 2026

Independent Indian filmmaker Anuparna Roy has spoken out after her award-winning debut film Songs of Forgotten Trees was blocked by Indian censors and prevented from being released in her home country.

Roy, who is only 28, made headlines in 2025 when Songs of Forgotten Trees won the Best Director award in the Horizons section at the Venice Film Festival. The achievement marked a major breakthrough for the young filmmaker and brought international attention to her work.

However, her return to Venice this year has been overshadowed by the ongoing problems surrounding her debut feature. Roy revealed that India’s film certification authorities recently informed her team that the movie was considered a “threat to society” and could not be distributed.

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Attacks

Kolkata Journalist Mehboob Raza allegedly assaulted

State: West Bengal

Year: 2026

Date: September 11, 2026

Journalist attacked

Kolkata Journalist Mehboob Raza was allegedly assaulted at Harin Bari Lane near the Colootola area.

A journalist’s alleged assault at a tea stall has brought the long-standing allegations of intimidation in Ward 43 back into focus. The latest incident has raised questions over the alleged influence of Nakhuda Masjid imam Maulana Shafiq Qasmi and his youngest son, who has been named in connection with the attack.
A message circulating among residents and activists alleges that the imam and his “syndicate” have dominated Ward 43 for the past decade, with those speaking against them allegedly facing violence. It names Imran Ali, Sharik Aman and Mahboob Raza as alleged victims of attacks.
“Pehla shikaar Imran Ali, dusra Sharik Aman, teesra Mahboob Raza. Kab khatam hoga gunda raj 43 se?” the message asks, demanding an answer from the Kolkata Police.
The allegations, however, remain unverified. No details of the earlier incidents, including dates, police complaints or medical records, have been independently established. The current journalist attack must also be investigated before responsibility is assigned.
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Threats

The File’s editor G. Mahantesh gets threat calls allegedly over reports on Siddhartha Trust; KUWJ, BJP demand action

State: Kerala

Year: 2026

Date: September 10, 2026

Journalist Threatened

Editor-in-Chief of Kannada investigative news platform The File, G. Mahantesh, has allegedly received abusive and threatening phone calls after publishing reports on Siddhartha Vihara Trust, linked to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s family.

According to statements issued by the Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka, Mahantesh was allegedly threatened with physical assault following publication of the reports on September 8 and 9.

Mahantesh approached the police with a complaint over the threats, but the cops allegedly refused to register an FIR and instead recorded NCR No. 556/2026 and told the senior journalist to approach the court for further proceedings.

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Lawfare, Threats

Threatened after Kanthapuram debate, BIG TV journalist Aparna Kurup now booked

State: Kerala

Year: 2026

Date: September 7, 2026

Journalist Lawfare

Days after BIG TV journalist Aparna Kurup approached the police over death threats and sustained cyberbullying following a television debate on women’s rights, she has now been booked by the Kochi Cyber Crime Police over remarks she made during the same show.

The FIR was registered on Monday, September 7, against Aparna, a senior coordinating editor and news anchor with BIG TV, following a complaint by Abdul Hakeem B M, a resident of Kasaragod. She has been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Kerala Police Act.

The FIR lists Sections 192 (provocation to riot), 299 (outraging religious feelings), 302 (wounding religious feelings) and 353(2) (promoting enmity) of the BNS, along with Section 120(o) (causing nuisance) of the Kerala Police Act. However, its concluding portion refers to Section 351(1) (criminal intimidation) instead of Section 353(2).

The case relates to remarks Aparna made while discussing statements by Sunni Muslim cleric Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar that women should not share public platforms with unrelated men and should stay away from such public spaces.

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Attacks

FIR filed against TVK MLA Kapil for assaulting journalists in Ranipet

State: Tamil Nadu

Year: 2026

Date: August 18, 2026

Attacks on journalists

The incident follows a confrontation between Kapil and Siva outside a theatre in Sholingur, where the YouTuber was interviewing people about their reactions to TVK cadres after a screening of Jana Nayagan, starring TVK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay.

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA from Sholingur in Ranipet district G Kapil and his brother Dhananjeyan have been booked by Sholingur police following a complaint that two journalists were detained, assaulted and threatened while reporting on an altercation involving a YouTuber.

The case was registered based on a complaint by journalist T Aranganathan, who is undergoing treatment following the alleged assault. According to the FIR, Kapil and Dhananjeyan have been booked for the charges of committing obscene acts, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation

Aranganathan said that himself and another journalist, Kalyanasundram, went to the spot after learning that a YouTuber, Siva, had been assaulted. The journalists began recording the developments on their mobile phones.

The complaint alleges that Kapil, his brother and their supporters then confronted the journalists, assaulted them and confined them inside the premises. Their mobile phones were allegedly taken away and the videos they had recorded were deleted. The journalists have also alleged that they were threatened with death.

The incident follows a confrontation between Kapil and Siva outside a theatre in Sholingur, where the YouTuber was interviewing people about their reactions to TVK cadres after a screening of Jana Nayagan, starring TVK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay.

According to reports, Kapil allegedly attempted to attack Siva during the interaction. A video of the confrontation subsequently circulated on social media.

On July 27, Kapil, Dhananjeyan and more than 20 others allegedly went to Siva’s residence, forcibly took him to a nearby YouTube studio and assaulted him, according to reports. After learning about the incident, Aranganathan, a reporter with Dinakaran, and Kalyanasundram, a Dinamalar reporter, went to the studio and began recording what was happening.

The two journalists were allegedly assaulted after they began filming. They were also allegedly forced inside the studio and their phones were taken away.

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Harassment

WaPo story on Adani: Police raid homes of journalist Ravi Nair, seize mobile phones

State: Delhi

Year: 2026

Date: August 17, 2026

This raid took place days after Gujarat High Court refused to quash an FIR against Ravi over a tweet related to an article in The Washington Post, which alleged that the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) made investments in the Adani Group on the instructions of the Union government.

On the afternoon of August 17, 2026, officials from the Gujarat police conducted parallel searches at two homes of journalist Ravi Nair in Kerala and Delhi. They seized two of Ravi’s mobile phones from his residence in Kerala. At Ravi’s Delhi residence, law enforcement officials took his son’s laptop, as well as the laptop and iPad of a colleague who was present there.

Neither his son nor the colleague are accused in the case.

These seizures are in connection with a police case against Ravi for a tweet he posted on X. Ravi’s tweet was about a story he co-reported on the Adani Group, which was published by The Washington Post in October 2025. The story alleged that Indian officials had drafted and pushed through a proposal in May that year to steer about $3.9 billion in investments to Adani’s businesses from the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The investigation was based on internal documents from the LIC, the Indian Department of Financial Services, interviews with current and former officials at these agencies, as well as three Indian bankers familiar with Adani Group finances.

On April 22, an employee of the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) in Ahmedabad filed a defamation complaint against Ravi’s tweet. Several months later, the same staffer filed a second complaint, based on which the Gujarat police officials then filed a First Information Report (FIR), invoking sections related to cheating and forgery of documents.

Meanwhile, Ravi approached the Gujarat High Court. Ravi’s plea was that “mere denial by the LIC of the reports published by the petitioner in the Washington Post, would not make the petitioner liable for the offence alleged against him in the FIR and also mere denial of the facts narrated in the Article by the LIC, would not make the documents, based upon which, the article was published by the petitioner in the Washington Post, forged, and therefore, the petitioner herein cannot be prosecuted for the offence in question.”

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Internet Control

CJP’s Instagram handle briefly taken down, restored later

State: Applicable Across India

Year: 2026

Date: August 15, 2026

“What a shame that those who oppose CJP chose India’s Independence Day to try to muzzle our voice. We will not be intimidated by such cowardly acts!” the outfit said in a post

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has also sought to put youth-related issues on the national agenda ahead of Independence Day. File | Photo Credit: ANI

The official Instagram account of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was taken down on Saturday morning (August 15, 2026), but it was later restored, with the outfit alleging that the move was an attempt to silence its voice on Independence Day.

The CJP, which was at the helm of the recent students’ protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, said it had successfully recovered the account.

“What a shame that those who oppose CJP chose India’s Independence Day to try to muzzle our voice. We will not be intimidated by such cowardly acts!” the outfit said in a post.

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Internet Control

Google tells HC it has withheld Dhruv Rathee’s ‘defamatory’ video in India

State: Applicable Across India

Year: 2026

Date: August 11, 2026

Google on Tuesday told the Delhi high court that it has withheld in India a “defamatory” YouTube video of social media influencer Dhruv Rathee, which allegedly hurt religious sentiments.

Google, which owns YouTube, made the statement before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on a petition filed by lawyer Amita Sachdeva.

Controversial Video Sparks Religious Outcry

Sachdeva claimed that on March 21, Rathee published a highly derogatory and communally sensitive video, which garnered millions of views on YouTube and contained “false, misleading, and provocative statements insulting Bhagwan Shri Ram, Bhagwan Shri Krishna and Sita Devi.”

Google’s counsel said action was taken pursuant to an order passed by the Centre’s Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC).

The video has been withheld only in India, as the issue of global blocking was pending before a division bench of the high court.

Legal Battle Over Global Blocking

Sachdeva said that on July 15, the GAC directed Google to take down the video within 24 hours, but it only “withheld the video” in India, which was only “partial compliance”.

“Issue regarding global injunction is already pending before the division bench. Whatever they could do, they have already done,” Justice Sharma responded.

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Internet Control

Gujarat police notified X to remove posts critical of Adani: X’s submission in Karnataka HC

State: Applicable Across India

Year: 2026

Date: August 10, 2026

X’s (formerly Twitter) latest submission also reveals details of MeitY’s Section 79(3)(b) officer, details of an order from the Grievance Appellate Committee, and much more.

The Gujarat government repeatedly used an impugned provision of the Information Technology Act to direct X (formerly Twitter) to remove tweets critical of industrialist Gautam Adani and, to a lesser extent, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, latest submissions by the company in the Karnataka High Court show. At least seven takedown notices were issued by Bipin Ahire, the inspector general of police of Gujarat Police, under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act read along with Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021. Each of these notices cited Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Nahita, 2023, the provision that criminalises statements conducing to public mischief with imprisonment of up to three/five years and/or a fine.

These submissions were made by X on July 28 in its appeal against a single judge’s judgement that dismissed the company’s petition challenging the use of Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to issue takedown notices, the constitutionality of Rule 3(1)(d) of IT Rules, and the creation of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’s (I4C) Sahyog portal meant to “streamline” takedown notices sent under these two provisions. The Tech Trace has reviewed X’s submission of these additional documents.

 

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