New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday restrained Assam Police from taking any coercive steps against senior journalist and The Wire editor Siddharth Varadarajan, along with other journalists associated with the portal, in connection with an FIR filed over a published article.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, representing the journalists, argued that the Assam Police was attempting to circumvent the Court’s earlier protections. She informed the Court that Varadarajan and a consulting editor had been summoned on Friday for statements in relation to an FIR dating back to May, raising concerns that arrest could follow under the guise of “routine procedure.”
The Bench, while shielding the journalists, observed that “everyone is expected to follow the law,” and directed them to cooperate with the investigation. The Court further sought a status report on the matter for the next date of hearing.
On August 12, the apex court had already extended protection to Varadarajan, barring any coercive action by Assam Police regarding the FIR linked to his article on “Operation Sindoor.” With today’s order, that shield now extends to his colleagues as well.
It seems the Supreme Court has once again reminded everyone that while journalism may not always be comfortable, neither should it be criminalised—a gentle nudge to the Assam Police that “circumventing” court orders is, ironically, not part of the legal map.
