INDIA: Journalists' Voices are Being Suppressed by Criminal Cases in Small Cities and Towns: Report

In India, reporting on government officials, religion and protests puts journalists in trouble. In particular, journalists living in towns face the most difficulties.

New Delhi: The biggest reason for criminal cases against journalists in India is considered to be reporting on public officials, religious issues and protests. This has been revealed in a study prepared in partnership with the National Law University (NLU), Delhi. 

According to the report, between 2012 and 2022, journalists were booked for "criminalization of journalism" a total of 624 times. At least 40 percent of the journalists were also arrested.

The report "Pressing Charges: A Study of Criminal Cases Against Journalists Across States in India" states that reporting on public officials became the biggest threat to journalists, as 147 such cases were registered. 99 incidents were reported regarding reporting on religious issues, while action was taken against journalists in 79 cases for covering protests.

According to the report, journalists working in small cities and towns were more affected. While journalists were arrested in 24 percent of the incidents in metros, this figure reached 58 percent in small cities. In big cities, journalists were protected from arrest in 65 percent of the cases, but in smaller cities this number was only 3 percent.

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— VOiCE OF MEDIA (@voiceofmedia1) July 14, 2025

Journalists in smaller cities and towns, or those reporting in Hindi or other regional languages for local publications, were most affected, and their cases often did not receive attention from national or international media, according to the study.

Being booked had serious ramifications for journalists and their loved ones, including the possibility of arrest, threats by police or politicians, and social stigma. 

The report notes that cases against journalists in India are not always consistent. For example, defamation charges, which are brought against private rather than government authorities, were more common in large cities and against journalists engaged in investigative journalism, while offences against government employees were more common in smaller towns and were made in relation to journalists’ ground-level newsgathering activities.

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pic.twitter.com/LMqj8E9wCR

— VOiCE OF MEDIA (@voiceofmedia1) May 29, 2025

The report says that in more than 100 incidents, the charges were related to the journalists’ alleged conduct in the course of reporting, rather than the subject they were reporting on. The most frequently brought criminal charges against journalists were related to public peace, criminal intimidation and insult, inciting enmity, defamation, offences against public servants, and religion.

The report has been prepared in collaboration with TrialWatch, an initiative of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, and the Human Rights Institute of Columbia Law School. Experts believe that the findings of this report raise serious questions about the freedom and accountability of the media and the government needs to make necessary reforms in this direction.

NLU Vice Chancellor G.S. Bajpai said, "The growing trend of using criminal laws against journalists raises serious constitutional concerns. This report shows that journalists, especially those in small towns, are increasingly being targeted through punitive provisions. This does not bode well for the health of a constitutional democracy where freedom of the press is a fundamental pillar."

The report, was based on an analysis of 423 criminal cases registered against 427 journalists, covering a total of 624 incidents of "criminalisation of journalists" related to their work during 2012-2022.