NEW DELHI, 28 Feb: Fiercely independent journalism is the need of the hour, Supreme Court judge Abhay Oka said on Friday and asserted that it is the duty of the court to uphold the fundamental rights of mediapersons.
Justice Oka made these remarks at an event to give away the International Press Institute-India Award for excellence in journalism to Bhanu Prakash Chandra of The Week for his coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Vijaita Singh of The Hindu, Ashutosh Mishra of India Today, Greeshma Kuthar of The Caravan, Arunabh Saikia and Tora Agarwala of Scroll.in, and journalists of The Print received special appreciation from the jury for their reportage on the ethnic violence in Manipur.
“One of the most important fundamental rights is the freedom of speech and expression. I always believe that democracy can survive in India only if this fundamental right remains intact,” Justice Oka said.
He said it has always been the obligation of the judiciary to uphold this fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression.
“In independent India, fiercely independent journalism is the need of the hour. In a sense it is also the responsibility of a journalist to remain independent,” Justice Oka said.
“I believe that freedom of freedom available to journalists must be protected and safeguarded at any cost,” he added.
Justice Madan B Lokur, a former Supreme Court judge, said there have been instances of laws relating to security, financial, crime and automation technology being misused to control the media.
He said journalists have also been arrested under anti-terror laws and the internet has been shut down in certain regions to thwart dissemination of news and views.
“When voices are silenced and dissent is punishable, democracy crumbles. What remains is a hollow structure, one where power is unchecked, corruption, rights and citizens are reduced to passive spectators rather than active participants in governance,” Justice Lokur said.
Justice Lokur was the chairman of the award jury. Other members of the jury included Riyad Mathew, Chairman, IPI-India, and chief associate editor and director, of Malayala Manorama, Shobhaa De an eminent columnist, and Vijay Joshi, the Editor-in-Chief of Press Trust of India.
Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk said journalism is considered the first draft of history and more crucial during times of war. He said 57 journalists, including eight foreign nationals, have been killed in the war in Ukraine, while 45 have been seriously injured.
Former union home secretary GK Pillai said the crisis in Manipur is a result of the failure of the central and the state governments.
“The fundamental rights of the citizens of Manipur, right to movement, right to life and liberty and the right to education were abrogated completely. All the constitutional authorities – state government, statutory authorities, high courts and even the Supreme Court in one sense – were unable to do anything to restore normalcy,” Pillai said.
The former union home secretary said that the process of healing has just begun and the first steps have been taken by the governor.
“Tremendous damage has been done to the social fabric. It is not going to be easy to repair them. We must move forward through dialogue to find a solution which is possible in our democracy,” Pillai said. (PTI)
