The Supreme Court of India, on Thursday, directed that no coercive steps should be taken against journalist Mamta Tripathi in relation to four FIRs registered against her in Uttar Pradesh. The bench, led by Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra, and K V Viswanathan, also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, seeking its response on Tripathi’s petition to have these FIRs quashed.
Tripathi has contended that the FIRs, which were based on her tweets, are politically motivated and were frivolously filed to suppress her freedom as a member of the press. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Tripathi, highlighted a similar case involving journalist Abhishek Upadhyay, who was co-accused in one of the FIRs and had previously secured a Supreme Court order protecting him from coercive actions over his reporting on caste dynamics within the state administration.
The bench emphasized, “It is directed that no coercive steps be taken against the petitioner (Tripathi) in connection with the subject articles.” This statement echoes the Court’s stance from Upadhyay’s case, where it was asserted that mere criticism of the government should not lead to criminal charges against journalists.
In her plea, Tripathi argued that her journalistic efforts aimed to shed light on actual events and issues within Uttar Pradesh but were met with hostility from powers within the state administration, leading to the filing of frivolous charges. The FIRs were registered in Ayodhya, Amethi, Barabanki, and Lucknow.
The plea also underlined the essential role of a free press in a democracy, stating, “It is submitted that a free press is the fourth pillar of democracy and cannot be prevented from publishing facts, opinion, and analysis howsoever unpalatable to the ruling establishment.” Tripathi further invoked Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, which protects freedom of speech and expression, arguing that criticism of government policy should not be grounds for filing FIRs.
