New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice on a plea filed by two journalists from Madhya Pradesh alleging that they were physically assaulted at the instance of Bhind’s Superintendent of Police over their reporting on “illegal sand mining” in the Chambal river.
However, a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma declined to pass any interim order protecting the petitioners, journalists Shashikant Jatav and Amarkant Singh Chouhan, from any coercive action.
“Suppose you commit a crime like murder, can we grant you no coercive action order? We don’t know what crime has been registered against you,” remarked the Justice Karol-led Bench.
It said that before passing any interim order, the facts should be brought by the Madhya Pradesh government as well.
The apex court told the petitioners’ counsel to add Bhind’s SP as a party to the petition, observing that it is “very easy” to make allegations against an IPS officer without making him a party to the litigation.
The matter will be heard next on Monday.
During the hearing, the top court remarked: “We appreciate that you are the fourth pillar (of democracy), we also appreciate that if there is a threat to life, we will come to your rescue.”
In their writ plea filed before the Supreme Court, the journalists, allegedly facing grave threats to their lives and liberty from the Bhind police, claimed that the duo were forced to flee their hometown due to the intensity of these threats and cannot safely approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court, compelling them to directly petition the top court.
The plea highlighted that the two reporters have a strong track record of fearless reporting on corruption and illegal activities, especially illegal sand mining in the Chambal river, allegedly carried out with the support of local police. In the plea, the petitioners named IPS officer Asit Yadav and his subordinates as key perpetrators of the abuse, claiming that the targeting is retaliatory, stemming from their investigative work. The journalists claimed that the duo faced grave threats to their lives and liberty from the Bhind police, including custodial assault, caste-based abuse, kidnapping, and continued harassment.
