The Editors Guild of India welcomed the Supreme Court judgement on the sedition case against senior journalist Vinod Dua.
The court had quashed a criminal complaint filed against Mr. Dua and underlined the importance of protecting journalists from sedition cases.
“EGI expresses satisfaction with the Supreme Court’s concerns over the chilling effect that sedition laws have on free media and on our democracy. The Guild demands repeal of these draconian and antiquated laws that find no space in any modern liberal democracy,” the Guild said in a statement.
The reference to the earlier judgement of Justice Kedar Nath Singh and the need to protect journalists from sedition charges, the Guild said is welcome, but the manner in which such laws are implemented by law enforcement authorities in different parts of the country, leading to pre-trial incarceration, needs further intervention by the apex court.
