HT DIGITAL
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 18: The Gauhati High Court has held that a journalist who is expressing fear regarding illegal immigration, religious fundamentalism, militancy, or demographic terrorism against indigenous communities cannot be presumed to have sought to promote enmity between classes or communities or incite violence.
The judgment was delivered by Justice Pranjal Das, who emphasized that the core responsibility of journalism is reporting social issues of significance, no matter how controversial they may be. It was on this premise that the court upheld a 2016 FIR lodged against journalist Kongkon Borthakur of Dainik Janmabhumi under Sections 153A and 34 of the IPC.
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The FIR had been registered on November 11, 2016, by Farid Islam Hazarika, President of the All Assam Muslim Students’ Union (AAMSU), Sivasagar. Hazarika claimed that the report of Borthakur had perturbed communal peace and challenged harmony among demographic groups.
The report in question had written about issues pertaining to religious fundamentalism, illegal migration from one country, the demographic issue it created, and the militant activities associated with such fundamentalism.
Borthakur objected to the FIR, claiming his reporting was done after ground-level research and the charges did not meet the legal criteria of Section 153A. The court concurred with this argument, observing that the evidence indicated that the journalist’s mind was not to cause disharmony but to educate the people on important issues. “When put to the test on the anvil of Section 153A IPC, it cannot be said that the petitioner had intended to create enmity or induce violence,” the bench held.
