Supreme Court Ruling on Government Criticism

• The Supreme Court of India (SC) has ruled that criminal cases against journalists perceived as critical of the government are not permissible.
• The court also barred the Uttar Pradesh Police from coercing a journalist for his article about a “casteist tilt” in the deployment of officers in the Yogi Adityanath administration.
• The court emphasized that freedom to express views is respected in democratic nations and that journalists’ rights are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
• The journalist, Abhishek Upadhyay, claimed that the FIR “compares the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh as an incarnation of God and hence immune from any critical analysis of the caste dynamics in his general administration.”
• The court emphasized that journalists’ duty is to serve the truth, hold power accountable, and inform the public without fear or favour.