JAMMU: US-based journalist body, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has condemned the Jammu and Kashmir government’s threat of legal action against a Doda-based news portal ‘The Chenab Times’ over the publication of a video report on the detention of an environmental activist under draconian law Public Safety Act a few days back.
In a post on X (Previously Twitter), the CPJ said, “Authorities must cease harassing the outlet’s journalists in retaliation for their work. As newly elected J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah seeks to restore the region’s statehood, he must fulfill his electoral promise to uphold press freedom.”
Detentions of Union Leaders in Kishtwar
It may be recalled that five local union leaders were detained four days back under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) in Kishtwar district, with authorities claiming they were attempting to obstruct projects of national importance.
The detentions come amid growing tensions between local activists and authorities over implementing hydropower projects in the region.
Environmental activist’s detention in Doda
Close on the heels of these detentions, another local environmental activist Rehmatullah Ahmed was detained and booked under PSA for challenging Doda’s administration on civic issues, suggesting a pattern of using security laws against environmental and civic activists.
On November 5, news agency IANS posted a video of Rehmatullah Ahmed protesting against the soil waste management project initiated by the National Building Construction Corporation Limited in 2008.
According to detained activist Rehmatullah Ahmed, despite significant investment, the project has failed to deliver on its promises of converting garbage into manure, instead leading to health issues due to regular garbage burning.
A similar video report was published by ‘The Chenab Times’ on its social media platform, Facebook.
DIPR warning letter to ‘The Chenab Times’
The Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), the official PR wing of the Jammu and Kashmir government, threatened legal action against a local news portal for reporting on the detention of a Doda-based activist under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
In a letter (INF/D-45/2024) on Tuesday (November 12), the district information officer (DIO), Doda, warned of legal action against ‘The Chenab Times’ for publishing a video report about the detention of Rehamatullah, a Doda-based activist who was booked under the PSA, allegedly for raising issues related to Doda Municipal Committee.
The warning letter comes days after J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, who is also the Union Territory’s information minister, assured the media that his government would “not resort to highhandedness” against journalists. Abdullah had also asserted that if the media was “not allowed to function independently …. we will not be able to strengthen democracy.”
The district administration of Doda, which is headed by deputy commissioner (DC) Harvinder Singh, a 2019-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, had warned the media in a Facebook post against “wrong reporting” of the activist’s “detention under security”, adding that it will have “consequences”, but the post was later deleted.
Conflicting claims of Doda administration
In another post, the administration said, Rehamatullah was an “overground worker” of militants and the grounds of his detention were “totally different from what is being circulated on social media”.
The video report, which had recorded more than 18,700 views and 44 comments till Wednesday evening, was produced by Raja Shakeel, a reporter with ‘The Chenab Times’, and published on its Facebook page on Monday (November 11, 2024).
In the video report, Shakeel reported that Rehamatullah had been booked under the PSA for the second time and that his detention was also condemned by Mehraj Malik, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and a newly elected MLA from the Doda assembly constituency.
“In two out of five cases in the PSA dossier, police blamed Rehamatullah for speaking against the country,” Shakeel said, “But legal experts argue that the same cases which have been used to book a person under PSA for the first time can’t be used to detain him again under the PSA if the first PSA has been quashed by the court.”
In an attempt to blame the portal for questioning the official claims, an ethical obligation of journalists, the DIO’s letter alleged that the “tone and content” of the report projected the “administrative procedure in a bad light and empathised with the person who has been booked .. by following due process of law”.
The letter said, “In the said video you have tried to prejudice the due process of law thus creating a potential law and order issue. You have interpreted the action of administration as per your convenience which has created rumours in the general public.”
Questions over Portal’s registration
Anzer Ayoob, editor of ‘The Chenab Times’, told The Wire, that instead of addressing the concerns raised by their journalist through his report, the administration has “questioned the validity of our organisation’s registration, which amounts to harassment.”
“We have been repeatedly directed to submit registration and other authorisation documents by the Doda administration and we have complied with these orders every time. There is no question regarding the legality of our organisation. The government should focus on addressing the questions raised in the report,” Ayoob said.
‘The Chenab Times’ editor was asked to submit his response to the DIO’s letter by 11 am on Wednesday.
Ayoob said that his portal was “fully aware of the ethical standards outlined in the IT Act, 2000, and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which are essential for the lawful and ethical operation of digital news portals” in the country.
“We consistently uphold these principles, striving to deliver content that is factually accurate, impartial, and fair. The video report presented the points of view of both the district administration and the detainee’s family. Nowhere does the report interpret the action (of the administration) in a bad light,” he said.
“Stating the circumstances around a person’s detention doesn’t mean we empathise with the detainee. Reporting facts does not equate to taking sides or showing sympathy,” Ayoob added.
-----
Have you liked the news article?