Meghalaya Police on Wednesday went one step ahead to “muffle the media” by claiming that “no journalistic privilege can protect the media from disclosing their source of information.”
G.K. Iangrai, assistant inspector-general (Administration) of Meghalaya Police issued a statement claiming that no privilege can protect media organizations from disclosing their source “as and when required”.
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The Meghalaya Police on Tuesday had served a notice to Northeast Now to remove a news report and had demanded “authenticity of the source of information”.
MGT Sangma, Special Superintendent of Police, had sent the notice under Section 91 CrPC to Northeast Now, and had asked to remove a news report related to the state’s opposition leader Mukul Sangma.
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Iangrai said in the statement that “publishing of the report/alarming news contains rumors which may incite hatred or ill will between different communities.”
“I think the police officials did not read our report. The report had no information which could incite communal tension,” Anirban Roy, editor-in-chief of Northeast Now said.
Iangrai also said the notice under section 91 CrPC was served to Northeast Now to ascertain the authenticity of the information, which has been denounced as “misinformation” by the Leader of the Opposition.
“It is still not understood as to why the Meghalaya Police is taking so much interest in a news report, and is all out to gag the media,” the Northeast Now Editor said.
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Roy said the officials of Meghalaya Police probably forgot that journalists are fully protected by the Article 19 (1) A of the Indian Constitution.