New Delhi, 15 October (H.S.): The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Central Government on a petition seeking guidelines to regulate the conduct of police and law enforcement agencies towards journalists during protests and crowd-control operations. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed that the notice be issued while hearing the plea.

The petition alleges that police personnel assaulted several journalists, including women journalists, while they were covering protests in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It further alleges that journalists were subjected to mistreatment while carrying out their professional duties at the protest sites.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Indira Jaising argued that a national protocol was necessary to ensure the safety of journalists covering demonstrations and to establish clear standards for the conduct of police and other law enforcement personnel.

In response, Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court would like to formulate guidelines in this regard.

The petition seeks a framework to safeguard journalists during protests and crowd-control operations, enabling them to perform their professional responsibilities without fear of assault or mistreatment.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar