'Unique method of silencing' the press: J&K High Court quashes 2018 FIR against journalist

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday quashed an FIR registered by the police against a journalist for reporting police torture, Outlook reported.

The FIR had been registered against Asif Iqbal Naik in 2018. The court observed that the manner and mode in which the FIR was lodged against Naik “clearly reflects the mala fide on the part of the police,” and that the police had chosen a “unique method of silencing the journalist and it is undoubtedly an attack on the freedom of the press.”

On April 19, 2018, Naik, a Jammu-based reporter with local newspaper Early Times, published a story about the alleged custodial torture of a Kishtwar resident with the headline, “Father of 5 brutally tortured by Kishtwar police.”

The report had quotes from the victim’s cousin and brother. It noted that after his alleged torture, he was shifted to a hospital due to his critical condition but the police allegedly tried to spin the case as attempted suicide. The victim later filed a criminal case against the police.

After the story was published, the police filed an FIR against Naik on May 12, 2018. Naik moved the high court, describing the FIR as a move to stop him from publishing any news against the police establishment and gagging the press and electronic media.

While quashing the FIR, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court held that the publication of a news item on the basis of statements made by relatives of the victim does not amount to an offense under Section 499 of the Ranbir Penal Code.

Calling the press vital for the functioning of a democratic country like India, the court said, “No fetters can be placed on the press by registering the FIR against a reporter, who was performing his professional duty by publishing a news item on the basis of information obtained by him from an identifiable source.”

After the court judgement, Naik told the Wire that action must be taken against those who misused power. "Journalism is not a crime and journalists should not be treated as criminals for performing their professional duties," he said.