Editors Guild report was on Army plea and yet case filed: SC

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday termed the complaint against the Editors Guild of India (EGI) and its four members a “counter-narrative of the government” and asked as to how the offence of promoting enmity between different groups was made out against the journalists' body which merely gave a report at Army's request.

While extending the protection from coercive action to the EGI members by two more weeks, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra sought the response of the complainant and said it will examine the complaint which formed the basis of the FIRs against them.

The court observed the EGI team went to Manipur after the Army wrote to it about “partisan reporting” on the ground by vernacular media.

“They go to the ground. They may be right or wrong but that is what free speech is all about," the CJI said.

The top court was also critical of the fact that the Manipur high court entertained the PIL against the EGI. The CJI was referring to the plea filed by the International Meitei Forum seeking quashing of the report submitted by the EGI.

"The manner in which that PIL is entertained by the Chief Justice of the High Court...let me not say much more as the head of the family. But surely there are more pressing matters to be entertained than these kinds of PILs,” he said.

The top court took serious note of vehement submission of senior advocate Guru Krishnakumar, appearing for the complainant, that the EGI members have committed criminal offences by making “sweeping one-sided" allegations without even making me a party.

The bench asked as to how the offences under sections 195 (promoting enemity between different groups) and 200 (making false declaration in courts) of the IPC were made out against the EGI members. “Let us see Section 200.

This deals with making a false declaration before a court...Therefore this is subject to section 195 of CrPC. Where was the declaration made before the court? This is just a report," the bench said.

“We are also concerned because this can't be that the moment somebody says something in print, a case is filed. Your entire complaint is the counter-narrative of the government. You have basically put forth a counter-narrative, assuming that what they have said is false,” it said.

On September 11, the top court extended till Friday the protection from coercive action to the EGI and its members. It had also sought the view of the Manipur government on whether to transfer their plea for quashing the FIRs and other relief to the Delhi High Court for adjudication.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh had said on September 4 a police case had been filed on a complaint against the president and three members of the Editors Guild of India, and accused them of trying to "provoke clashes" in the state.

The Editors Guild, in a report published on September 2, slammed the internet ban in the state as being detrimental to media reportage, criticised what it termed as onesided reporting by some media outlets and claimed there were indications that the state leadership had "turned partisan."