Introduction
In a landmark ruling, the Allahabad High Court highlighted the responsibility of journalists to maintain ethical standards and emphasized the state's duty to prevent the misuse of journalistic privileges for personal gain. The Allahabad High Court has called on the State to cancel the licenses of journalists found engaging in anti-social activities such as blackmailing under the guise of journalism. The directive came from Justice Shamim Ahmed during the hearing of a case involving a journalist and a newspaper distributor charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Allahabad High Court (Image - Live Law)
Arguments Presented
The case before the Allahabad High Court involved criminal charges against a journalist and a newspaper distributor under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act. The accusations claimed that the defendants were part of a gang involved in blackmail and defamation through newspaper articles. The defense sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that the accusations were false and that the investigation was inadequate. Meanwhile, the prosecution maintained that the accused were engaged in anti-social activities.
Court’s Judgment
After reviewing the arguments and evidence, the court found the summoning order and chargesheet against the accused to be legally justified. It emphasized the gravity of the situation and called on the state authorities to revoke the licenses of journalists involved in such activities. Furthermore, the court pointed out that the accused failed to submit documentation proving their affiliation with the newspaper in question, which reinforced the case against them.
Petition by Accused
In this instance, a charge sheet was lodged against the journalist accused on October 9, 2023, under various sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Act. The matter falls under the jurisdiction of Beniganj Police Station in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district.
The journalist, who is the accused applicant in this case, filed a petition under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. requesting the court to annul the charge sheet, the cognizance order issued by the Hardoi session court on April 16, 2024, and the entire sessions’ case. However, following arguments, the Allahabad High Court determined that there were no grounds to consider the case, stating that the application lacks merit. Consequently, the court dismissed the application.
Background
The applicants, Puneet Mishra, a journalist with “Swatantra Bharat,” and another individual, a newspaper distributor, were implicated in Case Crime No. 499/2023 under Sections 384, 352, 504, and 505 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 3(2)(Va) and 3(1)(S) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The charges stemmed from allegations of blackmailing common citizens by publishing defamatory material against them to extort financial and other benefits.
Statements by Court
The court said, “The matter is very serious and the State Machinery should take cognizance of the same and cancel the license of such journalists if they are found operating in such type of antisocial activities in the garb of their license. There are machinery with the State government which is capable to stop such type of activities which are being operated in case if the case is found to be true.”
It added, “In the present case, the applicant, who claims to be the Journalist in the newspaper, namely, Swatantra Bharat is not able to show any document that he is recognized by the said newspaper and even after query made by this court the applicants and their counsel fails to show any such paper.”
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