Raising national security concerns out of ‘thin air’

To the relief of MediaOne in particular, and many members of the fourth pillar of India’s democracy but much to the embarrassment of the Union government, the Supreme Court HAS ordered quashing OF the Centre’s telecast ban on MediaOne, overriding the order of the Kerala High Court, which had upheld the Centre’s ban. The Apex Court pulled up the Ministry of Home Affairs for raising national security claims from “thin air” without facts. In 2022, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had revoked the license of the television channel, citing “security concerns”.

The channel had telecast comprehensive reports around the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests around the country in 2020. The MHA had in February 2020 briefly suspended the channel’s licence following its coverage of the Delhi riots.

There were very interesting and if one may say, bold observations made by the Apex Court. It stated the State cannot impose unreasonable restrictions on the press as it would have a chilling effect on press freedom. It also said the Centre can’t claim absolute immunity against investigative reports when such reports impact the rights of people and entities. It added that critical views of the media on policies of the government cannot be termed antiestablishment as an independent press is needed for a robust democracy.

But one should be cautiously ecstatic, With the on-going efforts of the Union government to silence its critics, whether from the political spectrum or civil society at the pretext of ‘national security’, this SC order comes as a welcome sigh of relief, though treading cautiously would be a wise decision for any media planning investigative or critical reports against the policies of the government.

 In another recent SC ruling, the political opposition was in for a setback when the SC refused to admit the plea challenging the alleged misuse of central probe agencies against the opposition political leaders, not part of the NDA.

While the SC has most often kept the faith of the common citizen in the judiciary, there have been instances where it has either maintained a stoic silence, or avoided a confrontation path with the Union government. And, it should not be forgotten that not all journalists or media organisations are fortunate to survive and pull through like MediaOne did.  

There are multiple criminal defamation cases and FIRs registered against several veteran investigative journalists in various courts and police station jurisdictions across India, for challenging policy decisions of the Union government or for exposing or hinting at alleged corruption in the highest echelons of power.