Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of India agreed to hear a plea filed by the Editors Guild of India (EGI) seeking protection from arrest against three members of the EGI’s fact-finding team over a report on the ethnic violence in Manipur. In the filed plea, EGI asked the top Court to not take any coercive action on its members. A three-judge bench of the SC including Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra heard the matter. During the court proceedings, the Senior Advocate appearing for the EGI, Shyam Divan, urged the SC to hear the matter on an urgent basis. SA further said “We are here seeking emergent directions under Article 32 and I will show how. Editors Guild of India appointed a fact-finding committee. The three seniors were senior journalists. They went to Manipur and made a report and concluded that local news reports were biased.”
The fact-finding committee was sent to examine the media reportage in the Manipur state from 07 August 2023 to 10 August 2023. On September 02, the 24-page report by the EGI was released alleging biased reporting by the local journalists of Manipur. The FIRs lodged against the members of the EGI are based on complaints describing the reports as “false, fabricated, and sponsored”. After hearing the contentions, the CJI said “Please keep the papers ready, we will take up after the admissions matters are over (today).”
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