The Delhi High Court has directed Zee News to disclose its source for one of its stories on an alleged confession by Asif Iqbal Tanha. Tanha is a student of Jamia Millia Islamia University who was arrested by the Delhi police in connection with the violence that broke out in the capital in February. He was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The court told Zee News to file an affidavit before October 19, the date of the next hearing, disclosing from where Tanha's alleged confession was received, LiveLaw reports. The direction came after the special cell of the Delhi police, which is investigating the Delhi riots, told the court that "none of the police personnel involved in the investigation leaked out any details".
The court was hearing a petition filed by Tanha "seeking a direction to take down sensitive information connected to the investigations, allegedly leaked by police to media channels, which had published information on the basis of his purported disclosure statement", the Indian Express reports.
In September, Newslaundry reported on how Zee News has been a megaphone for the Delhi police's contentious leaks on the February carnage. Seven "exclusive" reports were published in one month, all singularly attributed to the Delhi police, or without any source at all.
This included an August 18 report on how Tanha "confessed" to holding a chakka jam in Delhi, on Umar Khalid's purported instruction, during US President Donald Trump's visit. The same report also claimed that Tanha confessed “to instigating people to start riots over CAA in Delhi”.
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