The Editors Guild of India has sought a review of the new criminal justice laws that were implemented this month, contending that their provisions could potentially be used against journalists.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the guild has said over the years and under successive governments, many provisions under criminal laws, the "so-called" offensive-speech laws in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) -- sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, 502 and 505 -- have been liberally used to file FIRs against journalists whose reporting has been critical of the establishment.
"This has been done by governments across states and party lines," the guild has said in its letter to Shah dated July 29.
The guild has suggested an additional level of review before a criminal complaint is registered against a journalist.
"It is our strong belief that there is a need for a deep consultation and formulation of some set of guidelines for regulating prosecutions against members of the press/media for actions in the course of their duty," it has said.
The guild has said a complaint against a journalist should be reviewed by a high-ranking police officer and the same may be brought to the notice of the Press Council of India for its views.
It has also said the newly-notified criminal laws further expand the powers of the law-enforcement agencies, which is a cause of greater concern.
"Now, with the notification of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 respectively, we feel there is even greater cause of concern," the guild has said in its letter to the home minister.
It has pointed out that between 2019 and 2023, a slew of legislation has been passed by Parliament, dramatically expanding the reach of criminal laws by way of amendments to existing laws or by introducing new statutes outright.
"The reason we are specifically raising these is because we fear all these provisions can be potentially used against journalists, as has been the case in the past under IPC as well as CrPC," the guild has said.
It has requested for a thorough review of the criminal laws from this perspective and offered itself for substantive consultation on the issue.