NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India has constituted a legal advisory panel that will advise and work with it on important issues pertaining to press freedom. It shared in a statement that the panel will help the Guild craft responses to the complex web of civil and criminal laws that are used by authorities to suppress media freedom.
The members of the panel include former union minister, Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, senior Supreme Court advocates Shyam Diwan, Sanjay Hegde, and Menaka Guruswamy, senior Delhi high court advocate Rajiv Nayar, advocate Prashant Kumar, and advocate Shahrukh Alam.
The Guild also stated, “The panel will be expanded in the coming days to include more members of the legal fraternity from across different states, who have worked in the realm of freedom of expression and media related issues.”
The Editors Guild of India announces a Legal Advisory Panel to advise and work with the Guild on issues of press freedom. @KapilSibal Shyam Divan, Rajiv Nayar @Sanjayuvacha2 @MenakaGuruswamy, Prashant Kumar, Shahrukh Alam pic.twitter.com/d7EYtIqTCz
— Editors Guild of India (@IndEditorsGuild) November 25, 2020
The move comes in the wake of concerns raised over freedom of the press following several high-profile arrests of journalists across the country. While the case of Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami being taken into police custody and his subsequent release on bail was highly publicised, some other instances of arrest may have slipped under the average person's radar. Kerala-based reporter Siddique Kappan was arrested by Uttar Pradesh police and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, while on his way to cover the Hathras incident. Manipuri journalist Kishorechandra Wangkhem was arrested in October on charges of sedition for responding to a viral social media post made by the wife of a BJP politician. Ahan Penkar, a journalist with The Caravan magazine faced the brunt of police highhandedness when he was detained for several hours, his phone was taken away from him and its contents deleted by Delhi police officials.
