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Press Freedom

Govt does not interfere with press freedom: Anurag Thakur tells Parliament

Press Council of India (PCI), a statutory autonomous body, has been set up under the Press Council Act, 1978 mainly to preserve the freedom of the Press and improve the standards of newspapers

Updated On : 24 Mar 2023 | 7:07 AM IST

Attack on press freedom is akin to suppressing people's voice: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said media is the fourth pillar of democracy and suppressing its voice is akin to suppressing the voice of the public. His comments came a day after the Income Tax department carried out a survey operation at British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) offices in Delhi and Mumbai. The operation was conducted as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion, according to officials. "Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and an attack on its freedom is similar to suppressing the voice of public. Whosoever speaks against the BJP, these people deploy CBI, ED and I-T behind him," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. "Does the BJP want to crush the country's democratic system and institutions and turn the entire country into its slave?" he said. The action, which sparked a sharp political debate with the ruling BJP accusing the BBC of "venomous reporting" and the opposition questioning the timing of the move, comes weeks after the broadcaster ai

Updated On : 15 Feb 2023 | 1:48 PM IST

Income Tax department's survey on BBC India continues for second day

The Income Tax department survey operation against the BBC India continued for the second day with the sleuths understood to be making copies of electronic and paper-based financial data of the organisation, officials said Wednesday. The tax department had launched the action on Tuesday at the BBC's Delhi and Mumbai offices along with at least two linked premises as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion against the British broadcaster in India. Sleuths knocked at the doors of the BBC around 11:30 AM on Tuesday and they are still present, sources aware of the development told PTI. The tax officials are speaking to staffers of the BBC in the finance and some other departments even as other staffers and journalists were allowed to leave Tuesday night. Some computer peripherals and mobile phones were cloned as part of the operation, officials had said. The action, which sparked a sharp political debate with the ruling BJP accusing the BBC of "venomous reporting" and the ..

Updated On : 15 Feb 2023 | 10:03 AM IST

There should be more activism by SC: Ex-judge Lokur flags issues of freedom

While assaults on press freedom continue in India, there have also been some instances of violation of the citizens' fundamental rights, former Supreme Court judge Madan B Lokur noted on Friday, saying the apex court should be alert to such cases. Referring to some recent cases, Justice (retired) Lokur also noted that getting released from jail on bail has been difficult for some people and said there should be "more activism" on the part of the Supreme Court when it comes to the issue of personal liberty. Justice Lokur was addressing an event organised to present the prestigious IPI-India award for excellence in journalism. Former chief justice of India UU Lait and Justice Lokur, who was the chairperson of the jury, presented the award to news portal "The Print" and NDTV's journalist Saurabh Shukla. The Print's editor-in-chief Shekhar Gupta received the award on behalf of the portal. "Between the last award ceremony and the present one, there has been one area where change has tak