NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India has condemned the non-bailable arrest warrant issued against senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta on Thursday. The Guild also urged the Adani group to withdraw the criminal case against Thakurta.
“The Editors Guild of India strongly condemns the use of intimidatory tactics by powerful corporate houses against journalists. The case in point is the non-bailable arrest warrant that has been issued against senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, by a court in Gujarat’s Kutch district, for an article he had co-authored against the Adani group in 2017,” said a statement from the Guild.
The Guild said the warrant issued by a lower court was an example of ploys used by business houses to silence voices in media.
“Routinely they have targeted independent journalists,” it said. “Criminal defamation laws are often used by those in power to suppress scrutiny by the media… This case is a prime example of how such laws can be misused.”
“The guild strongly urges the Adani group to withdraw the criminal case against Thakurta. We further urge the higher judiciary to take cognisance that laws such as criminal defamation are often used to impede freedom of speech, and issue guidelines to ensure that wanton use of such laws does not serve as a deterrent to free press.”