HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Sept 28: In a significant step taken to counter legal challenges faced by the journalists in Manipur, the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and Editors Guild, Manipur (EGM) together have created the ‘Media Legal Assistance Fund.’
This fund has been set up to provide financial and legal assistance to media professionals involved in legal battles related to their work in journalism, reporting, and publication.
The move comes after the Editors Guild of India (EGI) opted to take their case to the Supreme Court instead of appearing before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal East, sparking concerns over the cost of such appearances.
However, cases of a personal nature not related to journalism, reporting and publication will not be included in the assistance.
All applications for legal assistance will be reviewed and cleared by a management committee and based on ethical and balanced reporting largely based on PCI guidelines tempered with local situations.
There will, however, be no assistance for cases related to reporting that may be considered ‘yellow journalism’ or ‘paid news.’
The fund will be managed transparently and handled by a Management Committee consisting of the following members, representatives of AMWJU, representatives of EGM, a legal team led by a legal advisor, and a chartered accountant, which will be co-chaired by the presidents of AMWJU and EGM.
Every donor to the fund will be, with his or her consent, publicly acknowledged and the account statement published annually. Apart from funds, advocates are also invited to assist or take any case as per their convenience, in the interest of safeguarding the freedom of the press in Manipur.
In the present case, Advocate Sapam Bishwajit and his associates are fighting on behalf of the AMWJU and EGM on pro bono. However, AMWJU and EGM will cover their travel and other minor expenses.
