PUCL urges Assam Police: Withdraw FIRs against senior journalists, repeal of BNS Section 152

By A Representative

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has expressed concern over fresh summons issued by the Assam police to senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar in connection with a second First Information Report (FIR). The move comes even as the Supreme Court had earlier directed that no coercive action be taken against them in a separate FIR registered in July.

The first FIR, filed on July 11, 2025, invoked multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 152, which criminalises speech said to endanger India’s sovereignty and unity. It was based on a report published by The Wire quoting India’s defence attaché to Indonesia, Captain Shiv Kumar, who had acknowledged at a public seminar that Indian Air Force jets were lost during Operation Sindoor because of political constraints on targeting Pakistani defences.

On August 12, the same day the Supreme Court granted protection from coercive steps in the first case, the Assam police issued summons in a second FIR filed in another district on similar allegations. According to The Wire, no details of the alleged offence were provided with the summons, which directed the journalists to appear before the police on August 22.

PUCL General Secretary Dr. V. Suresh said the second FIR disregards the observations of the Supreme Court that custodial interrogation is not necessary in such matters. “This is nothing but an attempt to intimidate and silence independent journalism by misusing the criminal law machinery,” he said. Dr. Suresh also described Section 152 of the BNS as “sedition law in decolonial garb,” arguing that its broad language undermines media freedom.

The organisation noted that this was not the first instance of action against The Wire. On May 9, 2025, the portal’s website was temporarily blocked in India for several hours following the publication of an article on Rafale jets in Operation Sindoor.

Calling on the Assam police to withdraw the cases, PUCL also urged the Union government to repeal Section 152. “Freedom of the press cannot be deliberately, arbitrarily and vengefully curtailed by police action. This kind of targeted persecution is inimical to the democratic fabric of the nation,” Dr. Suresh said.

Civil society organisations protest

In a simultaneous development, a broad spectrum of civil society voices has come together to oppose what they describe as an attempt to intimidate independent journalism in India. In a joint statement signed by 1,342 individuals, including writers, academics, activists and public figures, the group expressed concern over the Assam Police’s action against senior journalists Siddharth Vardarajan, Karan Thapar, and the news portal The Wire.

“This latest action represents a disturbing attempt to silence one of the last remaining independent voices in Indian journalism,” the statement said.

The signatories criticised the pursuit of sedition charges despite the Supreme Court’s earlier protection in a similar case, calling it a dangerous precedent. They also flagged what they termed a denial of due process, noting that neither a copy of the FIR nor details of the alleged offence were initially provided to the journalists. “Such disregard for law and legal procedure undermines the very institutions tasked with protecting citizens’ rights,” the statement said.

Highlighting wider implications for democracy, the statement stressed that an independent press is vital for accountability and public debate. It argued that in an era of misinformation on social media, independent media plays a crucial role in informing the public, fostering debate, and resisting authoritarian or discriminatory narratives.

The signatories praised The Wire and its journalists for maintaining professional ethics despite repeated pressures and demanded that the Assam government withdraw sedition and other charges. “We stand in full solidarity with Siddharth Vardarajan, Karan Thapar, and all journalists working to defend truth and free expression,” the statement concluded.

Comments

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey* Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.

Covishield controversy: How India ignored a warning voice during the pandemic

Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD * It is a matter of pride for us that a person of Indian origin, presently Director of National Institute of Health, USA, is poised to take over one of the most powerful roles in public health. Professor Jay Bhattacharya, an Indian origin physician and a health economist, from Stanford University, USA, will be assuming the appointment of acting head of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USA. Bhattacharya would be leading two apex institutions in the field of public health which not only shape American health policies but act as bellwether globally.

Growth without justice: The politics of wealth and the economics of hunger

By Vikas Meshram* In modern history, few periods have displayed such a grotesque and contradictory picture of wealth as the present. On one side, a handful of individuals accumulate in a single year more wealth than the annual income of entire nations. On the other, nearly every fourth person in the world goes to bed hungry or half-fed.

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan* “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.

Thali, COVID and academic credibility: All about the 2020 'pseudoscientific' Galgotias paper

By Jag Jivan The first page image of the paper "Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis" published in the Journal of Molecular Pharmaceuticals and Regulatory Affairs , Vol. 2, Issue 2 (2020), has gone viral on social media in the wake of the controversy surrounding a Chinese robot presented by the Galgotias University as its original product at the just-concluded AI summit in Delhi . The resurfacing of the 2020 publication, authored by Dharmendra Kumar , Galgotias University, has reignited debate over academic standards and scientific credibility.

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Search This Blog