Location: India
Date: June 18, 2020

Indian digital news publication Scroll.in and its executive editor Supriya Sharma are being victimized for their journalism through legal tactics. On June 13, the Uttar Pradesh Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Supriya and the publication for story on the impact of lockdown to fight coronavirus in the Indian prime minister Narindra Modi’s constituency.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns this unjustified act against Supriya, whom we see as being targeted for her reporting. We demand relevant authorities to withdraw the FIR immediately. 

“There has been a rising trend in such actions against journalists and press in India and we see them as deliberate and curated pressure tactics,” said our founder Kiran Nazish. “We have consistently noted these episodes are felt widely among journalists, as methods of obstructing their coverage. Which is a clear breach of democratic values.”

This kind of targeting instills fear within the journalism community and suppresses press freedom across India.

The case registered against Supriya and Scroll.in include various sections including the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The FIR, lodged in the Varanasi Rampur police station, contains charges filed under Sections 501 and 269 of the Indian Penal Code. The former section pertains to the printing of “defamatory matter”, while the latter relates to a “negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life”.

Ever since Covid-19 has gripped India, this weaponization of law to silence journalists has taken pace. A recently released report titled ‘India: Media’s Crackdown During Covid-19 Lockdown’ documented multiple instances of the press being targeted by law enforcement in states across India. Many journalists were apprehended for their reporting on the novel coronavirus.

The FIR was filed after a complaint by Mala Devi, a resident of a village named Domari in the Varanasi district. Mala was interviewed by Supriya as part of a series related to the impact of  lockdown on containing coronavirus in the said district. In the interview Mala told the publication that she was a domestic worker and was suffering a great deal due to the lockdown in the form of food distress. However, she negated her own statement in her complaint to the police station.

She has, instead, alleged that Supriya has misreported her identity and comments. Mala Devi also said that she was not not a domestic worker; in fact, she was an “outsourced” sanitation worker at the Varanasi city municipality.

After being charged by the police in Varanasi, Scroll.in released an official statement, wherein they have denied the accusations made against the publication and Supriya.

“Scroll.in stands by the article, which has been reported from the Prime Minister’s constituency. This FIR is an attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism, reporting on conditions of vulnerable groups during the Covid-19 lockdown.”

CFWIJ stands in solidarity with Supriya, as she defends her reporting based on the truth. No journalist deserves to be a victim of lawfare, especially in times when reporting facts has become crucial than ever. We demand that the charges pressed against Supriya are withdrawn immediately. The indian government must let journalists do their job and ensure press freedom in the country.

The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.

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