Three media organisations demand immediate withdrawal of cases against two senior journos

The three leading media organisations who are always at the forefront to wage struggles protesting over the undesirable, arbitrary and brutal actions of the ruling political dispensation against the journalists have strongly expressed its dismay and anger over the vindictive arbitrary action unleashed by the Assam police which through the Crime Branch in Guwahati, has filed the FIR against fearless ” The Wire’s ” founding editor Sidhartha Vardarajan and the senior vociferous journalist Karan Thapar involving section 162 of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita against the News platform for the second time in just two months.

It is noteworthy that the summons were issued on August 12, 2025 even as the Supreme Court justice Suryakant and justice Joymala Bakshi had granted Vardarajan and all journalists at the Wire protection from any coercive action in an FIR ( 0181 / 2025 ) filed by the Assam police in Morigaon on July 11, 2025 under section 152 and other provisions of BNS said the statement issued by the three media organisations viz PCI, IWPC and EGI.

Expressing their serious concern over the arbitrary FIR against two senior journalists Vardarajan and Thapar the statement said that now the Assam Police have again filed another FIR without mentioning any reason and have asked both the veteran journalists to appear before the investigating officer of Assam police on August 22 further threatening to arrest them in case of non compliance.

The signatories to the statement president and secretary general of PCI Gautam Lahiri, Neeraj Thakur, president and secretary general of IPWC Sujata Raghaban and Atishi Bahl and ECG chief Anant Nath etc have while demanding immediate withdrawal of the arbitrary cases against the Wire Journalists as well as withdrawal of draconian section 152 of BNS which directly threatens freedom of expression they also charged the Assam police for weaponising the aforesaid section to chill the media into SILENCE.

While heartily welcoming the relief accorded by the Supreme Court to the Wire and its founding editor Vardarajan the statement said that the re – registration of the new FIR against Vardarajan and Karan Thapar makes its apparent that section 152 has become a tool to target the media in the country.

It is worth recalling that in May 2022, the Supreme Court had ordered the suspension of
proceedings and criminal prosecutions for sedition under section 124A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code, Section 152 of BNS is a repackaged version of Section 124A.

In its writ petition last
week, The Wire has also challenged the vires of Section 152, BNS and the apex court issued notice to the Assam government and others said the statement.