An ordinance by Rajasthan Government is an attempt to “bludgeoning the messenger” and curbing press freedom said the Editors Guild of India. The Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, promulgated on 7 September, seeks to bar the media from reporting on accusations till the sanction to proceed with the probe is obtained. The Editors Guild is a is a literary forum of Indian writers in English.
The BJP-ruled state has announced that it will bring in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill in the Rajasthan Assembly session that starts on Monday. It bars the media from naming an accused until the government gives its nod for investigation. The ordinance also bars courts from taking up private complaints against public servants, such as serving and former judges, lawmakers, ministers, and officials without the government’s sanction.
Critical of the ordinance promulgated by the Vasundhara Raje government last month, the editors’ body said though it was ostensibly done to protect the judiciary and the bureaucracy against false FIRs, “in reality it is a pernicious instrument to harass the media, hide wrongful acts by government servants and drastically curb the freedom of the press guaranteed by the Constitution of India.” It has urged the Rajasthan government to immediately withdraw the ordinance and desist from making it into law. Legal experts have also criticised the move, questioning the restrictions the ordinance puts on freedom of the press.
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