The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought reactions from the home departments of Madhya Pradesh and Delhi in a petition by two Bhind journalists, demanding “immediate protection” after allegedly facing alleged attacks, caste-based misconduct and harassment to “expose corruption” through their reports.
Prior to the apex court, two journalists – Shashikant Jatav and Amarkant Singh Chauhan – have sought a direction against the MP Police for forceful action against them. In his petition, he also sought security for himself. The bench accepted the case and posted it for consideration on 9 June.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma on Wednesday expressed that it wants the state to provide relief to journalists through interim security through interim security. The bench also assured that if there is a threat to life, it would come to the rescue of the petitioners.
On May 28, the Delhi High Court provided Delhi Police protection to Chauhan, who was allegedly disturbed, threatened and snatched inside a police station in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh earlier that month. This security is still going on.
At that time, while Chauhan’s petition demanded that the High Court had called the MP for a status report in the incident, the court had verbally stated that it would be appropriate to advance the measure before the Madhya Pradesh High Court instead. Jatav also had a petition pending before the Delhi High Court, which has not been taken and is rebuilt for consideration on 14 July.
Chauhan and Jatav fled to Delhi on May 19 after facing harassment from the police, and then filed complaints with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Press Council of India (PCI). Impressing the threat from the state police, reporters informed the apex court that on May 28, when Chauhan’s petition was being heard, the Bhind police were camping outside the Delhi High Court premises.
The petitioners alleged that in May, Chauhan and Jatav were “invited” in their chambers, invited to a cup of tea with the Superintendent of Police (SP), Bhind, where “they (SP) and his subordinates were physically attacked and defeated.” It was claimed that more than half a dozen other journalists were also present in the chamber of SP Asit Yadav, who were stripped of their undergarments before he was physically attacked and battered before his arrival.
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According to reporters, “SP Asit Yadav was angry with the local police about extensive reporting about illegal sand mining activities in the Chambal river carried out by the Sand Mafia.”
On May 4, Chauhan and Jatav were on their way to meet MP Jyotiraditya Skindia from Gwalior to Delhi and “inform them about their plight” when “a Saurabh Sharma, a Saurabh Sharma, another journalist who was picked up by the road to Delhi” said. Instead, both were reportedly taken to a nearby spot, where some police officers were waiting, who took both journalists to Yadav’s bungalow to make ‘compromise’, warned that they should not pursue the case of attacking by Bhind police officers on 1 May, and asked to give up the allegations.
On May 5, he was once again called by SP Yadav to his office, “where he was forced to record a video statement in the presence of other police officers, stating that all cases between him and the police have been” solved “, the petition said. Then the video was broadcast by the police through WhatsApp with the intention of destroying the credibility of two journalists.
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