Where The Mind Is Without Fear And the Head Is Held High….

Hundreds of media professionals protested at the Press Club of India in Delhi on October 4, a day after the mayhem when offices of NewsClick, and homes of their staffers and contributors were raided.

Journalists gathered at the courtyard of Press Club with banners saying “Free the press”; “stop harassing Indian media”; “say no to persecution of the media”. They had initially planned a march to Jantar Mantar but police permission was denied.

Several prominent names were in attendance at the Press Club, including historian Ramachandra Guha, writer Arundhati Roy, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, activist Yogendra Yadav, as well as many eminent editors and senior journalists, including scores of veterans.

Speaking at the Press Club, journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who had also been questioned by Delhi police Special Cell for several hours on Tuesday said that the raids will have a “chilling effect” on independent journalism. He shared his ordeal on what conspired that day.

“The entire staff of Delhi’s Special Cell asked me a set of many questions. However, their behaviour was very decent. They asked me for tea and ordered lunch for me as well,” he said. He, however, said that the idea is to intimidate journalists.

“I don’t think ever in the city, so many journalists (were) being rounded up together. Whether you want to call them a question or interrogation, whether you want to call the presence of police in their homes at 6:30 in the morning, as raids, these are all definitions.

“All they (Delhi Police) kept saying was they are conducting an investigation. So, please cooperate with the investigation. This included submitting your phone and your laptop, this also included giving them access to your passwords or keys.

“I think the message is coming very clearly. It is coming to every single journalist, every single independent journalist. What has happened yesterday will have a chilling effect on independent journalism,” Thakurta said, wearing a ‘Free The Press’ card around his neck.

Thakurta had been taken to Delhi Police Special Cell station at Lodhi Road on Tuesday under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) following allegations that the portal “received money for pro-China propaganda”.

More than 50 journalists, both independent and employed with NewsClick, satirists, academicians, researchers, scientists and even those who had left the organisation years ago, were either detained or their houses raided where they were interrogated for hours.

The raids were not limited to Delhi but happened at other places like Mumbai as well. NewsClick founder Purkayastha and HR head Chakravarty were later arrested by the Delhi Police.

Police had sealed NewsClick’s office in Delhi and devices, including laptops and mobile phones, and documents were taken away for examination. Meanwhile, the line of questioning, many said, was not related to UAPA or funding of the organisation but about Farmers Protest, Delhi pogrom or any connection abroad.

“Nine police personnel came to my home in Gurugram at 6:30 in the morning. They asked me various questions. I came with them voluntarily to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The same set of questions were asked over and over again, if I am an employee of Newsclick, I would say 'No, I'm a consultant'.

“They asked whether I covered Delhi riots, I said no. They asked whether I covered farmers' protests, they said yes. After I came to the station, I learnt that an FIR has been lodged apparently under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act...,” Thakurta told the media after he was let go by the police in the evening after almost 12 hours of interrogation. He was also asked about his relative living in the United States.

Journalist Abhisar Sharma’s house was also raided and was taken to the station for interrogation. Taking to X, he released a video narrating what had happened. “Besides Delhi Police, CISF personnel and Uttar Pradesh police personnel were present at my house early in the morning… A few police personnel had weapons like guns and sticks with them.

“On enquiring they told me that they are here to investigate me on terror links. I was then asked a series of questions like whether I visited Shaheen Bagh in relation to CAA-NRC, did I cover Delhi riots from ground, were you covering farmers’ protest. I was also asked whether I speak or know anyone abroad… When I was taken to the Special Cell, I was again asked these same questions by four different people…,” Sharma said.

Other journalists, whose houses were raided, told The Citizen they too were asked about CAA protests, Farmers Protest, whether they covered the Delhi pogrom, and the Shaheen Bagh protest. They were also asked about their international links or whether they know anyone abroad.

The line of questioning, many said, “was absurd and repetitive in nature”. Journalists’ phones and laptops were also checked, and then later seized.

Press Club of India’s president Gautam Lahiri has termed it a long battle. “More journalists will be harassed… we are thankful to the government that they are giving us the opportunity to protest against them and they are uniting us,” Lahiri said.

Meanwhile, about 18 media foundations have written a letter to Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud. “The fact is that today, a large section of journalists in India finds

itself working under the threat of reprisal. And it is imperative that

the Judiciary confronts Power with a fundamental Truth – that there is

a Constitution to which we are all answerable,” noted DIGIPUB News India Foundation in a letter to Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.

The letter was written by DIGIPUB, along with 17 other journalist bodies, including Press Club of India, National Alliance of Journalists and Mumbai Press Club, on Wednesday, October 4.

The letter further reads: “This letter is an earnest plea to the sentinel on the qui vive, weather-beaten as that phrase may have become — an appeal from one institution that is essential for the exercise of freedom and democracy in India, to one that is Supreme and is sworn to protect the Constitution that enshrines those freedoms.

“We write this letter conscious of the fact that it is addressed not just to the Chief Justice of India but to an incumbent who has said, within the court and outside, that the “press has a duty to speak truth to power and present citizens with hard facts enabling them to make choices that propel democracy in the right direction” and that India's freedoms will be safe as long as journalists can play this role “without being chilled by a threat of reprisal.

“The fact is that today, a large section of journalists in India finds itself working under the threat of reprisal. And it is imperative that the judiciary confronts power with a fundamental truth – that there is a Constitution to which we are all answerable.

“The invocation of UAPA is especially chilling. Journalism cannot be prosecuted as ‘terrorism’. Enough instances in history abound to tell us where that eventually goes.”

The letter also mentioned the repercussions of UAPA on a journalist. “Journalists arrested under UAPA can end up spending months, if not years, behind bars before they are even granted bail. We already have the case of Siddique Kappan before us; he was incarcerated for two years and four months before finally securing bail.

“The tragic death of Father Stan Swamy in custody is a reminder of how indifferent the authorities seem to have become towards human life under the guise of combating ‘terrorism’,” it read.

The letter asked for the “framing of norms to discourage the seizure of journalists’ phones and laptops on a whim. The Supreme Court is seized of this issue in a writ petition filed by noted academics—Ram Ramaswamy & Ors. v. Union of India, W.P. (Crl) No.

138/2021 – and has not been satisfied by the affidavits filed by the Union of India in these proceedings.

“While the wheels of justice have been turning, the State has continued to act with impunity. The seizure of devices compromises our professional work. As the Supreme Court itself has observed (in the Pegasus matter), the protection of sources is an “important and necessary corollary” of freedom of media.

“But laptops and phones are no longer just official tools used to conduct official business. They have fundamentally become an extension of one’s self. These devices are integrated into our entire lives and have vital personal information contained in them—from communication to photographs to conversations with family and friends. There is no reason or justification that investigating agencies should have access to such material.”

Meanwhile, PCI President Gautam Lahiri also announced that the PCI had decided to seek an appointment with the CJI. Historian-author Ramachandra Guha criticised the use of UAPA against journalists and said this is the “worst phase” for journalism in India.

“They want to create fear among young journalists. Their parents would say not to do such things and find some safer jobs. Or join a Godi media channel where at least they would get a good salary… They perhaps want to create fear among the young journalists,” Guha said.

NewsClick has also issued a statement to condemn the police action. The letter to the CJI from press associations, including the Press Club of India, also asked the courts to consider three points: the framing of norms to discourage the seizure of journalists’ devices; guidelines for seizures and the interrogation of journalists; and finding ways to

ensure accountability of state agencies.