Srinagar: The chief of Indian Press Council of India (PCI) Markandey Katju has warned police and paramilitary personnel that they will have to face criminal proceedings if they commit any violence on scribes.
His comments came in the backdrop of targetting of Kashmiri journalists by police and paramilitary soldiers. At least four photo-journalists were beaten by police and paramilitary soldiers in Kashmir last week while the journalists were covering the protest demonstrations in Srinagar, the summer capital of disputed Kashmir.
The policemen also snatched equipment from two of the photo-journalists and it, according to them, have not been handed over them by the police yet.
“I am writing a letter to Cabinet Secretary and Home Secretary of Government of India and Chief Ministers and Chief Secretaries/Home Secretaries of all the States in India that I am not going to accept violence on journalists by the police or para military forces,” Katju said in a letter to Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
He said it is the duty of PCI under section 13 of the Press Council Act to uphold the freedom of the press. “A journalist while covering an incident is only doing his job. He is like a lawyer who defends his client. Just as a lawyer cannot be equated with his client, so also a journalist cannot be equated with the crowd. A lawyer may defend a murderer, but that does not make him a murderer. Similarly, a journalist is only doing his duty of conveying information to the public, and he enjoys the fundamental right of freedom of the media guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India,” he said.
The PCI chief said paramilitary forces and police in all States/Union territories must therefore be instructed not to commit any violence on media persons. “Otherwise they will face criminal proceedings which the PCI will launch against them,” he said.
PCI is a quasi-independent body set up by Indian government to hear complaints against the press and to defend media freedom. PCI has the powers of a civil court and can summon officials to appear before it but it is not clear how it would be able to pursue criminal charges against security officials on its own.
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