The case of Punjab Government’s action against the newspaper Punjab Kesari has reached the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, January 20, the newspaper’s publisher told the court that his electricity had been cut off for writing news against the state government. A notice has also been sent from the Pollution Board. The bench headed by the Chief Justice immediately intervened in the matter and stopped the state government from taking any punitive action against the newspaper.
The bench headed by the Chief Justice has ordered to maintain the electricity supply of Punjab Kesari Press. Chief Justice Surya Kant said that the matter is pending in the High Court, but in view of the exigencies, the Supreme Court is giving an interim order. It should be ensured that the publication of the newspaper does not stop.
The Supreme Court has said that until the decision of the Punjab-Haryana High Court comes on this matter, the printing press should be allowed to work without any hindrance. This protection will continue for a week after the High Court’s decision. This is being done so that the parties involved in the case get time to adopt further legal measures.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Punjab Kesari, told the Supreme Court that the state government has taken the action of cutting the electricity connection of the newspaper and issuing a notice in the name of pollution control. Apart from this, actions like closing hotels and other establishments of newspaper owners and registering FIRs have also been taken. All this happened after the publication of articles criticizing the government. This is a direct attack on the freedom of the press.
Commenting on this, the Chief Justice said that no newspaper can be closed under the guise of pollution or administrative rules. Crackdown on other business activities may be a separate matter, but disrupting the publication of a newspaper is not acceptable. The court said that it is not commenting on the merits of the case, but protection of media freedom is necessary.
Also read:-
‘We have spoiled relations with Russia…’, what did SC say to the Center while ordering to trace the Russian woman who fled to Moscow with her child?