Do not use power to threaten journalists, Supreme Court gave this advice to Mamta government

The country’s highest court has said that the state should not use its power to promote any political ideology or threaten journalists. The court said that the political class should introspect what they are saying while making their point. He should be even more responsible in today’s Twitter age. A division bench of Justices SK Kaul and MM Sundresh made the observation while quashing the FIR lodged against a news web portal. This matter is related to an article published in West Bengal.

The court said that while this country takes pride in its diversity, there can be different ideologies and thinking which includes political ideologies. It is an important element of democracy. ‘The forces of the state should never be used to intimidate the journalists with political ideas or what is in the public domain, the journalists have to bear the consequences.’ The court also said that it does not mean that a journalist should run away from his responsibilities regarding how he reports on a case.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave was present in the court on behalf of the West Bengal government. He told the Supreme Court bench that the state government has decided to withdraw the FIRs lodged against Opindia.com editor Nupur J Sharma, YouTuber Ajit Bharti and others. During the hearing, the court made it clear that it does not mean that he has got an opportunity to say something which will create problems in the society.