Editors Guild condemns arrest of NTV journalists, urges restraint

The Editors Guild of India condemned the arrest of two NTV journalists, calling it hasty and unwarranted. It urged the Telangana government to ensure media freedom, follow due process and exercise restraint while dealing with journalists and media organisations

Hyderabad: The Editors Guild of India (EGI) condemned the arrest of two NTV journalists, stating that the action was taken in undue haste on allegations of spreading fake news.

In an appeal to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the EGI urged the government to ensure that the media can operate in a free and unfettered manner in Telangana. It also requested the Chief Minister to direct officials to follow due process and exercise restraint while dealing with the media.

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The news channel had claimed that a woman IAS officer was transferred due to her alleged proximity to a Minister. No names were mentioned in the report. The IAS and IPS Officers Association of Telangana later issued statements demanding action against NTV.

Subsequently, a case of criminal defamation was filed against the journalists and NTV editors. In a midnight raid, the journalists were arrested and kept in lock-up until they were released on bail by the courts.

“It is interesting to note that the police acted on a complaint filed by the Secretary of the Telangana IAS Officers’ Association and not the unknown lady officer who had been allegedly defamed,” the EGI pointed out in its letter to the Chief Minister.

While deploring the use of media platforms for defamation, the Guild said that in the present case, the police showed undue haste in acting against NTV and its journalists. It stressed that the midnight raids and arrests were unwarranted, especially as the offences were bailable.

Ideally, the police should have followed due process and carried out proper and thorough investigations before resorting to coercive action such as arrests. Such overreach has a chilling effect on independent media, the EGI cautioned.