Criminal cases should not be registered against journalists for critical articles, important comment of Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a criminal case should not be lodged against a journalist simply for an article perceived to be critical of the administration.

A bench comprising Justice Hrishikesh Rai and Justice SVN Bhatti observed that in a democratic country, there must be respect for the freedom of expression, and the rights of journalists have been protected under Article 19(1)(A) of the Constitution.

The bench was hearing the petition by journalist Abhishek Upadhyay, in which he has demanded to quash the FIR registered against him in UP. This FIR was registered for publishing a report on the caste bias of general administration in the state.

Issuing notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on the petition, the bench said that in the meantime no punitive action will be taken against the petitioner in relation to the subject article. The apex court said in its order that the counsel for the petitioner read the FIR and said that thesaid FIR does not reveal any crime.

Notwithstanding this, the petitioner is being victimized and many more FIRs may be registered in addition to others after posting the report on X. The Supreme Court will hear the case next after four weeks. In the petition, Abhishek Upadhyay has alleged that the FIR against him was an attempt to misuse the state's law enforcement machinery to suppress his voice and should therefore be quashed to avoid further harassment. In the petition filed through advocate Anoop Prakash Awasthi, he said an FIR was registered against him at Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on September 20 following his report titled 'Yadav Raj vs Thakur Raj'.