New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 13, asked that a senior Delhi Police officer appear before it in person and explain allegations that women journalists were assaulted while covering the anti-Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) protests in the national capital.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said it was aware of the allegations and had already asked Delhi Police officers present in the courtroom to look into them.
“We’d like some senior officer to remain present here and explain,” the CJI said, adding that the police would have to answer the allegations.
The issue came up when senior advocate Indira Jaising mentioned a petition by the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI). The plea seeks safeguards for journalists reporting from protest sites, particularly women. Jaising told the bench that advance notice of the plea had been given to the Solicitor General.
The CJI said the petition would be heard on Thursday, October 15, along with the pending matter on the alleged police action during the protests.
Contempt plea filed
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned a contempt petition filed by the Free Speech Collective. It alleges that police assaulted journalists in defiance of the top court’s order last week that mediapersons covering the protests must not be harassed.
The plea says more than 20 journalists were detained and stopped from working while reporting on protests demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Senior advocate Chander Uday Singh mentioned a similar petition.
What NWMI sought
In its writ petition, the NWMI has sought directions to ensure the safety and dignity of journalists covering protests and other public events. It said the women journalists were assaulted and arbitrarily detained while reporting on October 10 and 11.
The petition argues that the ongoing inquiry into alleged police excesses does not specifically deal with problems faced by the press. These include access to protest sites, the detention or forcible removal of reporters and the safeguards needed for independent newsgathering.
It has urged the court to direct the Centre to ensure that women journalists doing bona fide reporting are not physically handled, intimidated, arbitrarily detained or forcibly removed. The plea says this should hold whenever they are present at, or close to, a protest, public assembly, crowd-control operation or other event of public importance.
Journalists, the plea said, must be able to do their work without facing police action merely for covering such events.
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