Editors Guild condemns FIR on The Hindu journalist over ‘confidential’ docs

Hyderabad: The Editors Guild of India (EGI), on October 28, condemned Gujarat police over the case against The Hindu’s correspondent Mahesh Langa for possessing documents of the Gujarat government’s maritime board.

The senior journalist is currently in judicial custody following his arrest on October 10, in an alleged GST fraud case, while he was not named in the FIR.

In a press release, the Editors Guild said that the registration of the second FIR against Langa, for possessing ‘confidential’ documents, is ‘worrisome’, as journalists are often required to access and review sensitive documents in the course of their work.

The EGI criticised the Gujarat police for initiating punitive actions against a journalist for doing their work.

The EGI also urged the Gujarat police to disclose the details about the second set of accusations against The Hindu’s assistant senior editor Mahesh Langa. The police have not made the new FIR public as they have put it under the ‘sensitive’ category.

Langa’s booking ‘unacceptable: The Hindu Editor

The Hindu’s editor Suresh Nambath took to social media platform X expressing his concerns over the case against the senior journalist. “District Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasamsetty said the next day that the online FIR was not accessible to the public as it had been put under the “sensitive” category. This is completely unacceptable,” said Nambath.

“We would like to reiterate that journalists are required to process documents, including those of a confidential nature, in the line of their work. They are guided by the larger public interest in perusing documents that are official or confidential,” he said.

“To file charges against them for possession of such documents is to undermine their journalistic work and their fundamental rights and to subvert the public interest. We urge the Gujarat police to drop the charges relating to the possession of classified documents against Mahesh,” he added.

Mahesh Langa arrested

The Hindu’s senior journalist Mahesh Langa was arrested by Ahmedabad police, from his residence on October 10. The case did not have his name in the FIR and was over alleged tax evasion by a host of companies, among which a company had alleged links to his family, including his wife and his cousin brother.

Langa had moved the Gujarat High Court challenging his judicial remand of ten days, calling the arrest “politically motivated”, which he later withdrew during the hearing.

Mahesh Langa is a senior media personality in Gujarat, who is seen as an independent voice, and often critical of the BJP-led state government. His arrest with weak links and subsequent addition of charges against him has raised concerns over press freedom in the state and the country.