Army invited us to visit Manipur: Editors Guild informs Supreme Court

Editors Guild responds to FIRs Regarding Manipur Coverage

Agencies, KalimNews, New Delhi, September 11th, 2023 : In response to FIRs filed against some of its members regarding their report on the coverage of Manipur ethnic clashes by vernacular media, the Editors Guild informed the Supreme Court on Monday that its members had visited the state at the request of the Indian Army.

"We did not volunteer for this mission. It's a letter from the Army to the Editors Guild dated July 12, 2023. It's an invitation by the Army to the Editors Guild, asking them to observe the unethical and one-sided reporting of incidents in Manipur," said Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioners, to a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud. The bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra, questioned why the Army would make such a request.

Sibal explained, "The Army wanted an objective assessment of the situation on the ground." Chief Justice Chandrachud then read out the letter, which mentioned an examination of reports to determine if media houses had violated journalistic guidelines.

Sibal clarified, "We are not concerned with the actions taken afterward, but we are concerned with what happened following our report. That's why we went in."

He also argued that once a report is submitted, there shouldn't be offenses under the Penal Code based on it. Sibal requested that the Guild prosecute the matter in the Delhi High Court rather than the Manipur High Court, citing concerns about the situation in Manipur.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed this request, stating that the Manipur High Court was functioning regularly and litigants and lawyers could appear via video conferencing. Sibal questioned the urgency of prosecuting them and mentioned the FIRs filed soon after their report.

During the hearings, CJI DY Chandrachud remarked– "It is a report after all. The basic question is, what they are arguing is this– that they have done a report. That is a matter of their subjective opinion. Can that be really be...This is not one of the cases where somebody was there on the ground and committed some offence. They published a report".

"You may make a larger statement that without any concession or any other future case that there is no objection...", CJI told Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who was representing the State of Manipur. It may be noted that last week, the Supreme Court had granted interim protection to the petitioners from coercive action in pursuance of the FIRs.

In response, the SG said, "If we want to make it a political issue on a national level, we can. The HC can deal with it... The intention appears to be to make it a national issue."

The Chief Justice clarified that they were not discussing quashing the case but deciding whether it should be heard in Manipur or transferred to the Delhi HC. The solicitor general promised to consult and provide an answer.

The Court scheduled further hearings for September 15 and confirmed the interim protection from arrest for the petitioners would continue during this time.