The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim protection to senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan, restraining the Assam Police from taking any coercive steps against him in connection with an FIR filed over a report on Operation Sindoor.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism (FIJ) — the organization behind the news platform The Wire. The petition also questions the constitutional validity of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
New Law Under The Scanner
Section 152 of the BNS — India’s new criminal code replacing the IPC — criminalizes any act that threatens the sovereignty or unity of the country.
The law reads, “Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to 7 years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
FIJ has raised concerns that the provision is overly broad and could be misused to target dissenting voices and journalists.
Court Urges Cooperation & Joins Petitions
While extending protection, the court directed both Varadarajan and other members of the FIJ to cooperate fully with the investigation being carried out in Assam.
The bench also ordered the matter to be clubbed with a similar case already pending before the court, for which notice was issued on August 8, indicating that the court is preparing to address wider concerns about the scope and implications of Section 152.
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