Editors Guild slams action against Gujarati news portal editor, Delhi Police notice to journalist
New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India on Wednesday condemned the slapping of sedition charges on an editor of a Gujarati news portal and an English Daily journalist being asked by the Delhi Police to join the probe into Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad's audio clip, saying the state and central governments should desist from misusing the law to threaten free press.
In a statement, the Guild said it notes with concern a growing pattern of misuse of criminal laws to intimidate journalists in different parts of the country.
The Guild first highlighted the incident of Dhaval Patel, editor and owner of a Gujarati news portal, 'Face of Nation', being booked for sedition and detained by the state police on May 11 for publishing a report suggesting the possibility of a leadership change in the state due to criticism over rising coronavirus cases.
Patel was charged with sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and with spreading false panic under Section 54 of the Disaster Management Act (DMA).
This is a misuse of special laws, besides sedition and IPC, the Guild said. The second instance of "egregious and high-handed action" has come from Delhi Police, it said.
"On May 10, the Delhi Police sent a notice to Mahender Singh Manral, Special Correspondent, The Indian Express, through the City Editor and Chief Reporter, The Indian Express, requiring the journalist, who had reported that police investigations found the possibility of the audio clip of Tablighi Jamaat leader, Maulana Saad, being doctored, to join a probe on this matter on May 10," the statement said.
"While Manral wasn't charged under any law, he was threatened that failure to join the probe could result in legal action under Section 174 of the IPC with punishment of a prison term and fine," it said.
The Guild said this appears to be a little more than a fishing expedition to try and extract the journalist's source and, thus, warn other reporters.
Asserting that these instances of police action in Gujarat and Delhi are deeply disturbing, the Guild said the government and the police must recognise that the media is an integral part of the governance structure in any democracy.
The Guild condemns these actions and asks the state and central governments to desist from misusing the law to threaten the free press, the statement said.
The Press Club of India (PCI) also hit out at the Delhi Police's action in the incident involving The Indian Express journalist.
"We stand in solidarity with our journalist colleague and urge a consolidation of support from the media and the general public on this vital issue," it said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
