It appears that the Kerala government, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], its police, and the party’s student wing— Students Federation of India (SFI)— are not going to allow the media to do its job freely and fairly.
Responding to the press on June 12, CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan said that the media will face action for reporting against the government in the state and “more cases will be filed if [it] continues to indulge in anti-government activities.”
A day earlier, the Kerala police had filed a conspiracy case against Asianet News chief reporter Akhila Nandakumar, Maharaja’s College principal V.S. Joy, head of the Department of Archaeology and Material Cultural Studies Dr Vinod Kumar, Congress’s student-wing Kerala Students Union (KSU) state president, Alosiouis Xavier, and Maharaja’s College unit vice-president C.A. Faisal.
The case was filed based on a complaint by SFI state secretary P.M. Arsho, alleging that a conspiracy to defame him had been hatched by the college and the media.
On June 6, the principal had informed the media that Arsho had registered for an exam and was considered failed (though earlier he was declared passed), as in the marks list (prepared by Vinod Kumar and Joy) he got zero marks.
Arsho had alleged that he did not sit for the said exam, and it is a conspiracy to defame him using a fake marksheet. (Arsho wasn’t available over the phone that day till 3 p.m.)
Asianet’s Akhila was in the college to report on another matter. She took the story and reported using the word ‘allegedly’ repeatedly quoting KSU president and others. She was charged for spreading wrong information.
The college principal later retracted his statement that Arsho had registered for the third-semester exam. According to Arsho, he did not fill the fees for the exam, though the online system shows him as registered. The principal called it a “technical glitch”.
Akhila’s case is not the first, and it does not look like the last of harassment of journalists in Kerala. Late at night on June 12, Asianet’s news anchor Abgeoth Varghese told The Leaflet that he had been summoned to the police station for reading a news report about Congress leader Mullappally Ramachandran verbally abusing controversial woman entrepreneur Saritha S. Nair in 2020.
“While reading the news, I condemned the leader’s statement. I didn’t endorse it. But I am summoned. I don’t know for what,” he added.
The media witch-hunt has garnered momentum during the last few months in Kerala.
Recently, two Mathrubhumi news channel reporters were booked by Kerala police for disrupting on-duty police officers. The reporters followed a police van, which was bringing the ‘Elathur fire case’ culprit from Mumbai to Kerala and took pictures for reporting on the matter.
On May 19, 2023, the ‘Elathur fire case’ took place in Kerala’s Elathur. The accused Shahrukh Saifi allegedly set fire to a coach of the Thiruvananthapuram-bound Kochuveli Express, killing 11 people and injuring 24 others. Saifi was arrested on May 20, 2023, and is currently being held in custody by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Previous incidents
A few months ago, the crime branch searched Asianet News channel’s Kozhikode office over a complaint by a CPI(M)-backed independent member of legislative assembly (MLA). This came two days after the SFI had barged into the Malayalam news channel’s Kochi office.
Vinu V. John, the senior editor, Sindhu Soorya Kumar, executive editor, and Naufal Bin Yusuf of the same channel, were summoned and booked in the case filed by the MLA.
While many legislators, political parties and journalists’ unions have condemned the incident and termed it an attack on the media, the CPI(M)’s leadership has been silent.
Even the party’s general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who hit out at the Narendra Modi government on the same day the income tax department searched the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) India’s offices last month, has chosen to remain silent on the Asianet matter. His party’s politburo, which was quick to release a statement on BBC titled ‘Intimidating Media,’ is also quiet on the matter.
A couple of months ago, John was summoned by the Kerala police in connection to a different case filed by the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) and Rajya Sabha CPI(M) member Elamaram Kareem.
The CITU and CPI(M) cadres also marched to the channel’s headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram to seek John’s resignation in 2022.
Interestingly, while commenting on media freedom, People’s Democracy, the mouthpiece of CPI(M), deliberately dropped the mention of cases and protests against Asianet. The article was titled ‘Defend Press Freedom, Defend Democracy’.
Legal moves
Sections 292, 293 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) protect and safeguard public morality by making, among other things, the sale of obscene literature and publications in general, and to young persons in particular, a cognisable offence.
In late 2022, there were reports that the Kerala government was planning to amend Section 292 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) Act to Section 292(A).
The new section 292(A) will give police the freedom to file a case without a complaint, if anyone criticises the government and administrators, the police can file a case considering it as defamation.
In short, the move was to restrain the freedom of media. But due to opposition from the ruling coalition, the amendment has been shelved.
In 2020, the Kerala government had come out with a move to amend Section 118A of the Kerala Police Act, aimed at preventing cyberattacks against women. But it was also dropped because critics exposed how it was a move to muzzle the media.
New ways
In 2016, contrary to the practice of holding press conferences after cabinet meetings, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan dropped interactions with the media and started issuing press releases.
In 2017, when journalists went to cover a “meeting” at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram, they were ousted as the chief minister yelled “kadakku purath” (Get out). It was a closed-door meeting with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) leaders, reportedly mediated by Yoga practitioner Sri M.
In the assembly, the media has been denied permission to shoot the proceedings. The government’s public relations department’s video team would air only treasury bench activities and drop Opposition protests.
Recently, while a ruckus occurred between the Opposition and the security officers in the state assembly, mobile shot visuals were leaked. Eventually, cases were filed against Opposition MLAs for shooting and leaking the visuals.
Roy Mathew, a veteran journalist based out of Kerala said, “At the Centre, we have media-hating Modi and here in Kerala we have media-hating mundudtha Modi (Modi in dhoti).”
“When it comes to media freedom, these two are on the same boat. They know that free and fair media is a threat to them,” Roy added.
“Pinarayi is worried over India’s press freedom rank decline. But he is failing to understand that he, his government and his partymen are contributing to the decline,” Roy continued, adding that this government has already created a sense of fear among young journalists.
Meanwhile, Dr Shashi Tharoor tweeted, “Disappointed to hear of proceedings against journalists doing their jobs professionally in Kerala. Freedom of the press is indispensable to our democracy and vital for our state. Government should stop such harassment.”
A photo accompanying his tweet quotes Voltaire: “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it,” rightly pointing out what needs to be followed in Kerala today regarding freedom of the press.
(Rejimon Kuttapan is an independent journalist and migrants’ rights researcher. He previously worked in Oman and was deported for reporting the plight of migrant workers and exposing human trafficking of Asian domestic workers when he was the chief reporter of Times of Oman. He has co-authored a book on migrants titled ‘Uncertain Journeys’ (Speaking Tiger) and authored a book ‘Rowing Between Rooftops’ on daredevilry of Keralite fishermen who saved thousands from the 2018 Kerala floods. Courtesy: The Leaflet, an independent platform for cutting-edge, progressive, legal & political opinion, founded by Indira Jaising and Anand Grover.)
