Report On ‘Doctored Audio’ Of Saad: Now, Press Council Asks Indian Express Why Action Should Not Be Taken Against It

The Press Council of India (PCI) has sent a fresh notice to the Indian Express asking why the Council should not take action against it regarding a complaint filed by the Delhi deputy commission of police against the newspaper.

In a show cause notice issued on 20 May to the Editor of Indian Express and its reporter Mahender Marnal, the PCI said,

Read the PCI’s show cause notice here:

The PCI, a statutory body, has given 14 days to the Indian Express editor and reporter to respond.

The letter has also been marked to Joy N Tirkey, the Delhi deputy commissioner of police.

Section 14 of PCI Act, 1978, gives it powers to censure. The section says,

The report that is under the scanner was published on the front page of Indian Express’ Delhi edition on 9 May, headlined ‘Tablighi FIR: Police probe indicates Saad audio clip was doctored’.

The report quoted unnamed “sources” as saying that an audio clip of Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad mentioned in the FIR against him, which suggested that he had asked the Jamaat members not to follow social distancing norms and prohibitory orders, is “doctored”.

The report was rejected by the Delhi Police officially and publicly.

The same day, the official handle of the Delhi Police on Twitter called the report ‘factually incorrect’.

The handle tweeted,

To this, the Indian Express carried a note in its 10 May edition saying it ‘stands by the report’.

Subsequently, the Delhi Police called the reporter for questioning.

As reported by the Indian Express itself, the Delhi police sent a notice under Section 160 Cr.PC. to the City Editor and Chief Reporter, “requiring the presence of the reporter on May 11 at the Rohini office of the Crime Branch, Delhi, to produce all relevant documents and material and to join the probe or face legal action under Section 174 IPC — it can result in a prison term and fine”.

The reporter, Manral, indeed went to the Crime Branch office on 11 May.

His questioning prompted the Editors Guild of India (an association of some journalists) as well as PCI to issue statements against the police action.

In a statement, the Guild, whose president is Theprint.in founder Shekhar Gupta, called the Delhi Police action as “egregious and high-handed”, and said it was part of a “growing pattern of misuse of criminal laws to intimidate journalists in different parts of the country”.

The PCI, in a statement released two days after Guild’s, said it “expresses its concern over alleged threat of criminal prosecution and questioning of” the reporter.

It further said that, “Since matter affects the free functioning of the press, while taking suo-motu cognisance of the matter, a Report on Facts of the case is being called for from the Commissioner of Police, Delhi.”

The fresh notice by the PCI, however, is in contrast to its earlier position.

When asked about it, PCI secretary Anupama Bhatnagar said the notices are part of an ongoing procedure.

The Express reporter, Mahender Manral, declined to comment on the matter when contacted.

This correspondent wrote a critique of the Indian Express report In question here titled: Police Rebuttal Isn’t The Only Problem With Indian Express Report On Tablighi Head’s Audio. It Seems Intended To Misinform And Mislead.