News Analysis India

Tag: news portal

  • SC grants protection to editor, owner of news portal in ‘fake’ new case lodged in Tamil Nadu

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted protection from possible coercive action to the editor and owner of a news portal in a criminal case lodged against them over allegations of spreading fake news about attacks on Bihar migrants in Tamil Nadu.

    A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, however, refused to consider the plea for quashing of the FIR lodged in Tamil Nadu and asked the editor and the owner of the portal, OpIndia, to move the Madras High Court for the relief.

    The top court took note of the submissions of senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Nupur J Sharma and Rahul Roushan of the news portal, that the impugned news has already been taken back and now both of them are facing arrest.

    “We direct there shall be no coercive action against them for four weeks,” the bench said, adding the plea for quashing FIR may be filed in the meantime before the court concerned.

    “Jethmalani, how can we quash the FIR under Article 32 of the Constitution? You please go to the Madras High Court,” the bench said.

    The FIR was lodged in Tamil Nadu over the allegations that the news portal allegedly ran fake news over Bihar migrant workers in the state.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday granted protection from possible coercive action to the editor and owner of a news portal in a criminal case lodged against them over allegations of spreading fake news about attacks on Bihar migrants in Tamil Nadu.

    A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, however, refused to consider the plea for quashing of the FIR lodged in Tamil Nadu and asked the editor and the owner of the portal, OpIndia, to move the Madras High Court for the relief.

    The top court took note of the submissions of senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Nupur J Sharma and Rahul Roushan of the news portal, that the impugned news has already been taken back and now both of them are facing arrest.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    “We direct there shall be no coercive action against them for four weeks,” the bench said, adding the plea for quashing FIR may be filed in the meantime before the court concerned.

    “Jethmalani, how can we quash the FIR under Article 32 of the Constitution? You please go to the Madras High Court,” the bench said.

    The FIR was lodged in Tamil Nadu over the allegations that the news portal allegedly ran fake news over Bihar migrant workers in the state.

  • Media associations condemn police searches at The Wire

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Media associations on Tuesday condemned searches carried out by the Delhi Police at the offices of news portal The Wire and the houses of its editors on the basis of a complaint filed by BJP leader Amit Malviya.

    In a joint statement, seven media bodies including Press Association, Press Club of India and Digipub News India Foundation said the manner in which the Delhi Police has acted on the complaint of a BJP spokesperson “smacks of sheer vendetta”.

    “It is surprising that even after the news portal issued a detailed retraction for its editorial lapses, putting out the same in the public domain, the Delhi Police, based on the complaint of the BJP leader which includes a bevy of charges including criminal clauses under the IPC, registered an FIR and chose to proceed (with) investigating the matter with uncharacteristic promptness,” the statement said.

    Delhi Union of Journalists, Working News Cameraman Association, Indian Journalists Union and Kerala Union of Working Journalists are also signatories to the statement.

    Earlier, in a separate statement, Digipub News India Foundation claimed that the searches “mainly serve the purpose of criminalising and creating a chilling effect against the profession of journalism in India”.

    “A journalist or a media organisation that publishes a false report ought to be held accountable by its peers and civil society,” the statement said.

    “But for the police to carry out an immediate and arbitrary search of the media house’s office and its editors’ homes, based entirely on a private complaint of defamation filed by a spokesperson of the ruling party, smacks of malafide intentions,” it added.

    It noted that Malviya’s complaint was regarding a series of stories published by The Wire about social media company Meta, claiming that he had special censorship privileges through an Instagram programme called “X-Check”.

    The Wire had retracted the said articles last month, claiming that it was deceived by a member of its investigative team.

    The Delhi Police carried out searches at the houses of the portal’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan and deputy editor M K Venu on Monday.

    A senior police officer said searches were conducted at The Wire’s office as well and all electronic devices relevant to the probe were seized.

    NEW DELHI: Media associations on Tuesday condemned searches carried out by the Delhi Police at the offices of news portal The Wire and the houses of its editors on the basis of a complaint filed by BJP leader Amit Malviya.

    In a joint statement, seven media bodies including Press Association, Press Club of India and Digipub News India Foundation said the manner in which the Delhi Police has acted on the complaint of a BJP spokesperson “smacks of sheer vendetta”.

    “It is surprising that even after the news portal issued a detailed retraction for its editorial lapses, putting out the same in the public domain, the Delhi Police, based on the complaint of the BJP leader which includes a bevy of charges including criminal clauses under the IPC, registered an FIR and chose to proceed (with) investigating the matter with uncharacteristic promptness,” the statement said.

    Delhi Union of Journalists, Working News Cameraman Association, Indian Journalists Union and Kerala Union of Working Journalists are also signatories to the statement.

    Earlier, in a separate statement, Digipub News India Foundation claimed that the searches “mainly serve the purpose of criminalising and creating a chilling effect against the profession of journalism in India”.

    “A journalist or a media organisation that publishes a false report ought to be held accountable by its peers and civil society,” the statement said.

    “But for the police to carry out an immediate and arbitrary search of the media house’s office and its editors’ homes, based entirely on a private complaint of defamation filed by a spokesperson of the ruling party, smacks of malafide intentions,” it added.

    It noted that Malviya’s complaint was regarding a series of stories published by The Wire about social media company Meta, claiming that he had special censorship privileges through an Instagram programme called “X-Check”.

    The Wire had retracted the said articles last month, claiming that it was deceived by a member of its investigative team.

    The Delhi Police carried out searches at the houses of the portal’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan and deputy editor M K Venu on Monday.

    A senior police officer said searches were conducted at The Wire’s office as well and all electronic devices relevant to the probe were seized.