The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected four members of the Editors Guild of India till Monday against coercive action in two FIRs lodged against them in ethnic strife-hit Manipur. The apex court has sought a response from the state against the FIRs. The matter will be next heard on Monday, reports PTI.
Earlier, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud had agreed to hear the plea by the Guild, after senior advocate Shyam Divan mentioned the case for urgent listing before a bench headed by the CJI.
In the two FIRs registered on Monday (September 4), the Manipur Police booked the Editors Guild of India president and three members of its team over a report that criticised the role of the state administration and alleged bias by officials and a section of the media in the ethnic conflict, reported The Indian Express.
Members of the Guild – comprising Seema Guha, Sanjay Kapoor and Bharat Bhushan – had visited the state from August 7-10 and released a 24-page report on September 2. It was constituted after the Guild said that it had received several representations about “uneven and biased reportage of the conflict”.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh had announced at a press conference on Monday that the government was registering an FIR alleging that the Guild was adding fuel to the fire and “trying to create more clashes in the state”.
Ethnic conflict broke out in Manipur since May 3 between the Meitei and Kuki communities after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in Churachandpur district turned violent.