On Friday, September 15, the Supreme Court of India came out to defend the Editors Guild journalists namely Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, and the president of the Editors’ Guild of India against whom an FIR was filed over its lopsided report on Manipur violence. A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud orally remarked that prosecuting journalists under Section 153A of the IPC for making false statements in an article would be ‘egregious’.
The apex court was hearing a petition filed by the members of EGI, who sought the quashing of the case against them and protection from any coercive action by the Manipur Police.
“Even if EGI’s report is assumed to be false, making false statements in an article, by itself, was not an offence under Section 153A of the IPC,” the bench stated.
Calling the complaint filed against the Editors Guild journalist “a counter-narrative of the government,” the Supreme Court bench granted two weeks to the Manipur police and the complainant to file their response in the matter. Till then, the Court extended the interim order granting protection to the EGI journalists from coercive actions based on the FIR.
Tushar Mehta, the Solicitor General, objected to the Supreme Court hearing the petition. He advised the petitioners to seek help from the Manipur High Court.
Senior counsel Guru Krishnakumar, who appeared on behalf of the complainant, stated that his client would withdraw the charge if the EGI reversed its report, which was released on September 2.
Furthermore, he claimed that the EGI report aggravated the situation in Manipur and that a curfew had to be reinstated in the state after the report was published.
FIR filed against the Editors Guild of India over its lopsided report on Manipur violence
Notably, on 4th September, Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh announced that the state government has filed an FIR against the members of the Editors Guild for “trying to create more clashes in the state”. The FIR has been registered based on a complaint submitted under Sections 153A, 200, 295, 298, 505, 505(1), 499, 120B of the Indian Penal Code and 66A of the IT Act against Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, and the president of Editors’ Guild of India.
EGI report and the errors
Three fact-finding team members commissioned by the Editors’ Guild of India to investigate media coverage of an ethnic conflict in Manipur have been accused of submitting a “false, fabricated and sponsored” report. The report, released on Saturday, September 2 suggested that the state government had taken sides during the conflict and criticized it for failing to represent the entire state. Imphal-based social worker N Sarat Singh filed a police case against the three journalists – Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor, and Bharat Bhushan – alleging that the report contained errors.