NEW DELHI, Oct 14: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has expressed serious concern over the reported detention of journalists and media personnel while covering youth-led protests in New Delhi against alleged large-scale deletions of voters’ names during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In a press statement, the IJU said reports that journalists from several media organisations were detained, pushed into police vehicles and taken to different locations despite carrying valid press identity cards were deeply disturbing.
The Union said such actions amounted to unwarranted interference in the professional duties of journalists and undermined press freedom and the public’s right to information.
While acknowledging the responsibility of the Delhi Police and the administration to maintain law and order during public demonstrations, the IJU said law enforcement must not become a pretext for obstructing legitimate journalistic work. It stressed that journalists covering protests should not be treated as participants merely because they were present at the scene.
The IJU urged the Delhi Police and the administration to respect press freedom and ensure that journalists could discharge their professional duties without fear, intimidation or unnecessary restrictions. It said there should be no justification for detaining or removing journalists merely for covering demonstrations once their identities had been verified through valid press cards or other appropriate credentials.
The Union also called for clear instructions to police personnel deployed at protest sites to distinguish journalists performing their professional duties from individuals participating in demonstrations. Any restrictions on media personnel, it said, must be lawful, necessary and proportionate.
Expressing concern over reports that journalists were taken away from protest sites and transported to distant locations before being released, the IJU said such practices caused unnecessary harassment and obstructed timely coverage of important public events. It called for impartial investigations into allegations of assault, intimidation or deliberate obstruction of journalists and demanded accountability wherever violations were established.
The IJU further urged the authorities to uphold constitutional freedoms of speech and expression and the public’s right to know, emphasising that a vibrant democracy required both peaceful dissent and independent media coverage of the actions of the government, police and protesters.
The Union called upon the Delhi Police Commissioner and other concerned authorities to ensure that such incidents were not repeated and that journalists detained while performing their professional duties were treated with dignity and their rights respected.
“Press freedom is not a privilege granted by the authorities; it is an essential pillar of democracy,” the IJU said, stressing that protecting journalists covering public protests was vital to transparency, accountability and the public’s right to be informed.