The Press Council of India (PCI), a statutory body mandated with preserving the freedom of the press, issued a ‘show cause’ notice on October 1 to news magazine The Caravan, for its story ‘Screams from the Army Post’ that dealt with the torture of civilians by the Indian Army in the heavily militarised Jammu and Kashmir. The story was published in the February edition of the Delhi-based magazine. Responding to the notice, The Caravan in a strongly-worded statement said that the PCI failed in its mandate to protect the freedom of the press.
The show cause notice was issued by the statutory body following a complaint by Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), Amarendra Singh. Seeking action against the magazine, Singh in his complaint claimed that the magazine had published a “misleading”, “one-sided” article. “It appears to violate Press Council of India’s Norms of Journalistic Conduct 2022 specifically relating to (i) Accuracy and. Fairness (ii) Conjecture, Comment and Fact (iii) Investigative Journalism and (iv) Paramount National Interest and (v) Pre- Publication Verification,” the complaint read.
The notice to The Caravan said, “On a careful consideration of the material on record, I have been directed to call upon you to show-cause in accordance with Regulation 5 (1) of the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations, 1979, as to why the Press Council should not take action under Section 14 of the Press Council Act, 1978.”
The magazine has been directed to submit its written response to the notice within 14 days. “Thereafter, the matter will be placed before the Inquiry Committee of Press Council for taking necessary action,” the notice read.
If the magazine fails to respond to the notice, the Council will proceed with the complaint, it said.
The article in question reported by journalist Jatinder Kaur Tur delved into the deaths of three civilians who were taken in for questioning by the Rashtriya Rifles regiment of the Indian Army following an ambush by terrorists in the Poonch-Rajouri area in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2023. Four jawans were killed in the ambush.
The MIB Deputy Secretary alleged that the article “portrays the alleged actions of the security forces as a pre-planned operation and alleges that the Indian Army threatened to strip and kill the women in J&K and thereafter circulated certain videos to threaten the local population.” He claimed that the contents of the article were based on “presumption of various aspects by the journalist levelling serious allegations of custodial torture and murder against the Indian security forces”. The allegations of custodial torture which led to the death of civilians is currently being investigated.
“The article, portraying the actions of the security forces from a communal perspective, puts the responsibility of increase in militant attacks on actions of the Indian Army and makes malicious claims alleging politicization of the Indian Army. The article also includes a narrative of the post-partition incidents in Jammu and Kashmir from a false narrative that is spread by Pakistan,” the complaint read.
The Deputy Secretary said that the contents of the article have the “potential” to lead to “communal disharmony and uprising” against the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir. And thereby “detrimental” to sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, and public order in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.
In February, the MIB had asked The Caravan to take down its story – which was published in print and digital format – within 24 hours under section 69 A (Power to issue directions for blocking public access of any information through any computer resource).
Expressing shock at the PCI’s show cause notice that has come after several months, The Caravan said, “We are shocked at the PCI’s decision to issue a show-cause notice to us seven months later, where a basic assessment of the complaint would have made clear the MIB’s actions against The Caravan constitutes an act of censorship and the suppression of press freedom.”
The Caravan also said that the show cause notice has been issued beyond the period of 45 days stipulated under Regulation 5 of the Press Council (Procedure for Inquiry) Regulations and is therefore barred by limitation.
“The Press Council Act also expressly states that nothing in its inquiry and censure process ‘shall be deemed to empower the Council to hold an inquiry into any matter in respect of which any proceeding is pending in a court of law.’ As the case relating to this report is sub-judice, and is being heard in the Delhi High Court, the PCI’s show-cause notice is in clear violation of the Act that created the institution and is patently illegal.”
While pointing out that the PCI’s mandate is to protect the freedom of press and uphold its right to bring forward stories that are in the interest of the public good, the magazine added that by sending the show-cause notice and slapping on alleged violations of norms that do not seem applicable to the report in the first place, the PCI has failed its mandate.