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.

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