AMN / NEW DELHI
The Press Club of India recently hosted meetings with key international press bodies to seek their consultation and support on the Media Transparency (And Accountability) Bill, 2024.
On 14 May, the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s Trial Watch team presented the PCI with a copy of its recent report, Pressing Charges—a groundbreaking new report and interactive website documenting the criminalization of journalists across all states in India. The study was conducted in collaboration with National Law University, Delhi and Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School. Among other findings, the report reveals that in the cases of criminalisation of journalists, there are significant delays at each stage of a case, often resulting in financial hardship, heightened fear and anxiety, and substantial disruptions to both their personal and professional lives.
The report also found that small-town journalists face a higher risk of arrest, and that 35% of cases against journalists do not receive any media coverage. The report also cites the PCI’s Media Transparency (And Accountability) Bill, 2024, as a suggestive measure for strengthening press protections in India.
Having been at the forefront of working on issues connected to the freedom of the press and the persecution of journalists in India, the PCI was able to study the report and to speak with Stephen Townley, the legal director of CFJ’s TrialWatch, and Maneka Khanna, Senior Legal Program Manager, who led the study.
On 16 May, the PCI hosted a key press conference and interaction with the director-general of the Reporters Without Borders, Thibaut Bruttin, the RSF Director General, and Célia Mercier, Head of the RSF South Asia Desk. The PCI’s vice-president, Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, led the interaction.
The RSF recently released the 2025 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI). The position of India in the 2025 WPFI has risen to 151 from 159 in 2024. The RSF team highlighted six key points, which it later carried in a press release on its website as well:
It reaffirmed its support for Indian journalists facing repression, and called for the immediate release of the media professionals detained for doing their job and for the abusive legal proceedings against them to be dropped.
RSF called for an end to impunity for crimes committed against journalists, noting that two to three journalists have died each year over the past decade.
A protection mechanism could be established, and investigations must prioritise looking into the victim’s journalistic work as motives behind such attacks.
RSF also called for an end to media raids and the arrests of journalists, often carried out under the guise of anti-terrorism laws or tax regulations. This judicial harassment has reached a critical level for independent news media, and authorities regularly implement legislation that falls outside the proper legal framework applicable to the press.
RSF condemned the increasingly severe restrictions on access to reliable information in Kashmir and several northeastern states, and the challenges to accessing sources and data, which journalists need to be able to report properly. It noted that in various countries, it has seen territories which can become worrying indicators of the future of press freedom in the rest of the country, and that Kashmir appeared to be a grave example of the same, a “canary in the goldmine.”
RSF also highlighted the growing obstacles faced by foreign journalists seeking to cover current events in India. It called on the authorities to establish a transparent, predictable, and streamlined visa system for foreign correspondents.
Finally, RSF advocated for legislative reforms — such as those proposed by the Press Club of India— that would help limit conglomerates’ growing control of traditional media outlets and provide a framework to regulate social media platforms.
“India is the world’s largest democracy, and its electoral process cannot take place without a public debate grounded in facts, which are brought to light by journalists.
We call on journalists to look past divisions and unite around the ideal of delivering trustworthy information that serves the public interest,” Bruttin said.
“There is no need to be fatalistic: RSF stands with Indian journalists in these difficult times and is ready to work with local, federal, and national authorities of goodwill to implement actions and reforms that could improve the country’s ranking.
RSF’s presence reflects a strong commitment to engage with these issues, which are essential to Indian society.” “For me, there were two important takeaways from RSF director Thibaut Bruttin’s address to the press,” Pisharoty said.
“That press freedom doesn’t mean freedom of speech but journalists’ ability to work properly and their safety. And two, journalism is tied to democracy; a journalist must be able to work independently and without fear because people in a democracy has the right to get real and proper information.”Bruttin welcomed the draft of the Media Transparency bill, highlighting it as a strong example of legislative reforms possible in India and the world.The working draft of the Media Transparency (And Accountability) Bill, 2024, addresses the issues relating to: a) the lack of transparency of ownership with the emergence of media monopolies through cross-ownership b) freeing the press from the control of the Executive.
A copy of the bill is available on the PCI website.