India slipped eight places in the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Sans Frontières / Graphic by Aleef Jahan

A free press is fundamental to the existence of a healthy and flourishing democracy. Authoritarian governments across the globe have often cracked down severely upon the media critical of them. The recent move of the Government of India banning MediaOne, a Malayalam news channel, is entirely wrong. Moreover, the Kerala High Court's endorsement of the move is deeply concerning.

On 31 January, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry refused to renew the channel's license after the Home Ministry declined its security clearance citing "security concerns", which effectively resulted in its ban.

The ban attracted severe flak from civil society. Even Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and several MPs criticised it.

Though the channel moved the Kerala High Court against the ban, the court had endorsed the central government's stand. The matter is now before the Supreme Court, which has given temporary relief by staying the ban.

Problems with the ban

The ban impinges on several fundamental rights guaranteed by India's Constitution. Most importantly, it violates the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to consume information.

The Centre refused to disclose the reasons behind its move to the channel, claiming it was a 'national security issue' but presented them before the court in a 'sealed cover'. The government argued that there were enough intelligence inputs to justify the ban. Although the High Court said that "…the issue is not discernible from the files," it endorsed the ban as it had some "indications" impacting state security.

The biggest issue here is that the court flouted the basic principles of natural justice. These mandate that in any adjudication process, the accused should be made aware of the charges against them and given a fair chance to defend themselves. Here, the channel is left entirely in the dark over the reasons behind its ban and therefore, unable to defend itself. "We are supposed to face the punishment but not know what crimes we have committed," complains Pramod Raman, editor of MediaOne.

The court also went against the mandate that any restriction of fundamental rights must be not just reasonable but also withstand the test of proportionality. The court has accepted the restrictions without examining their reasonableness in any way.

Targeting critical voices

Supporters of the ban accuse the channel of having terror links and receiving foreign funds to spread terrorism in the country. But such accusations seem to be baseless and politically motivated. If there exists any evidence for such serious claims, why is the government not taking severe action or making arrests?

As Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the channel, argued before the Supreme Court, "We are shut down simply because we are run by some members of the minority community." Many investors in Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd, MediaOne's parent company, are members of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a Muslim group. Right-wing portals have also spread that this is a banned group, which is not true.

MediaOne's reportage has been highly critical of the government and the right-wing political ecosystem. It had faced a similar brief ban in 2020 because of its coverage of the Delhi riots, which had shown the RSS and Delhi police in a negative light. The government is clearly acting vindictively, trying to muzzle the voices speaking against it.

Targeting critical voices

The ruling regime has been increasingly trying to witch-hunt media houses critical of it. Allegations of financial wrongdoing have been used to heckle media houses like NDTV, Newsclick and NewsMinute. It has become a norm to charge journalists with draconian provisions for their reporting. Siddique Kappan, Fahad Shah, Sajad Gul and Aasif Sultan are all victims of this trend. No wonder India recently dropped eight places this year in the World Press Freedom Index from 142 last year to 150 out of the 180 countries. Its position in the index has been declining for years.

The outcome of the MediaOne case will decide the future course and set the boundaries of press freedom in the country. If the verdict endorses the ban, it will establish a dangerous precedent. It will mean that the government can have a free hand in intimidating and shutting down any critical media houses, under the bogus of "national security" and get away with submitting 'sealed covers,' contents of which are unknown to the accused and hence go uncontested.

It can be the final nail in the coffin for India's press. It is now up to the top court to see that this does not happen.

Related link: India Media freedom under threat