NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea by
Editors Guild of India
seeking
protection
from
arrest
against its members in Manipur.
The Guild has petitioned the court to not take any coercive action on its members against whom FIRs are lodged in connection with the ethnic violence that erupted in the state.
The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.
“We will take it up after admission (matters) are over,” the CJI told senior advocate Shyam Divan, who mentioned the matter for the Guild.
Divan added the two FIRs were lodged against the Guild members in Manipur after senior journalists visited the strife torn state for 4 days and gave a report on September 2 on alleged biased reporting by Manipur local journalists. The top court has been seized of happenings in state since July 20.
He added that the said group was seeking protection from coercive action in these cases.
On the same day, the Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh had said that a police case has been filed on the basis of 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.
A second FIR was also registered against the four members of the Guild, with additional charge of defamation.
The Guild, in a report published on Saturday, had slammed the internet ban in the state as being detrimental to media reportage.
They had also criticised what it termed as one-sided reporting by some media outlets and claimed there were indications that the state leadership “had turned partisan” during the conflict period.
(With inputs from agencies)
