It has never been easy to be a journalist. Yet in an age of contested narratives, journalists continue to put themselves at risk to gather information first-hand. Over the week past, as authorities in Delhi cracked down on young protesters, several journalists bore witness to the violence and summary detentions. In the course of doing so, many of them were also rounded up. First-person accounts from a number of them testified to police brutality against protesters, detention without access to phones, confiscation and damage of expensive equipment, and release at locations far off from where they had been detained. Their declaration of being journalists made little difference. The accounts are chilling—more so those from women journalists, who spoke out against being sexually harassed, manhandled and assaulted while doing their jobs. It is for this reason that an association of women journalists moved the apex court seeking safeguards for those covering the protests. The Supreme Court has asked for the Delhi Police and administration to explain the alleged incidents and mooted the idea of forming a predominantly women-led independent panel to examine the complaints.
The State has contended that blanket assurances cannot be made as identities of everyone claiming to be a journalist cannot be ascertained. This begs the question as to why journalists with appropriate credentials should face any violence or detention at all. Equally concerning is the FIR under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act registered against a woman journalist on the complaint of a policeman 10 days after she and her colleagues staged a sit-in to place on record her complaint accusing the cop of sexual harassment. The Delhi Police sent her complaint to the Crime Branch for inquiry, but has yet to register an FIR. While complaints under the SC/ST Act must be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, complaints of sexual harassment at the hands of the police must also be investigated with similar alacrity.
While the Supreme Court is seized of the matter, the Press Council of India has shared guidelines for journalists to follow while on the job during protests. Most journalists do take precautions in tense situations. The question is whether the State agencies will introspect as to whether their treatment of journalists bearing witness is in accordance with the Constitution and their conscience.
