The Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre and Delhi Police on proposed national guidelines for policing journalists at protests. The case could establish stronger safeguards, particularly for women reporters facing alleged intimidation and assault.
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Newdelhi,Oct 15, 2026 18:00 IST
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi Police on a plea seeking national guidelines for interactions between law-enforcement authorities and journalists during protests and crowd-control operations, Press Trust of India reported.
The plea alleged that several journalists, including women, were assaulted and mistreated by police while covering protests in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
“We would like to lay down guidelines,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed after senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, said there should be a national protocol.
The court directed that no coercive action be taken against a woman journalist booked following a complaint by a Delhi Police officer. The officer alleged that she made casteist remarks against him and publicly humiliated him during a protest near Jantar Mantar.
Jaising said the woman journalist was molested by a police officer but no first information report had been registered on her complaint. The bench said the allegations in her complaint were “very serious” and asked the police to examine it and complete the inquiry.
Jaising also urged the bench to direct the authorities not to register any more cases against women journalists. “Even in war zones in Israel and Palestine, journalists go there and nobody stops them. Here, they are stopping journalists from going to Jantar Mantar,” she said, adding that journalists had a right to report.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that identifying journalists had become difficult in the digital age. “The difficulty is that, in the present era of digital technology, anyone having a mobile is a journalist,” he said.
“Our experience is that there are several people who say they are freelance journalists. What is going on is reel-making in the protests. The problem is we don't know who is a reel-maker and who is an independent journalist,” Mehta said, according to PTI.
Jaising alleged that several women journalists performing their duties were pushed and assaulted, including by male police officers, during the protests. She asked the court to form an independent committee to examine their complaints.
The bench said such a committee could predominantly or exclusively comprise women, including retired judges, retired Indian Police Service officers and others. Jaising said she could suggest names for the committee and would submit a list of complaints by women journalists in a sealed cover.
“Before this court, every voice is valuable and everyone will be heard irrespective of numbers,” the bench observed. Jaising argued that the police could not investigate themselves and that an independent committee should examine the complaints filed by women journalists.
The court then issued notices to the Centre and the Delhi Police. One lawyer said police had seized electronic devices belonging to several journalists who were covering the protests. Another lawyer alleged that police had mistreated a large number of women protesters. “Allow me to file my response,” Mehta said.
After the court barred coercive action against the woman journalist, senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for other petitioners, raised the case of a pregnant journalist. He alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pushed her on the Supreme Court premises during the October 12 march.
“A lady journalist was pushed by Rahul Gandhi in the Supreme Court precincts. She was three months pregnant and she was hospitalised,” Bhatia said, urging the court to take note of the allegation. The bench asked him to file a petition and said it would consider the matter.
The plea concerning journalists sought a declaration that arbitrary detention, forcible removal, intimidation, assault, dragging, manhandling, injury or other use of force against media professionals engaged in genuine news gathering or reporting violated Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(1)(d) and 21 of the Constitution.
It also sought the preservation and disclosure of all records related to incidents involving journalists from October 10 onwards, including CCTV footage, recordings from body-worn cameras and police videos.
The petition asked the Supreme Court to frame, or direct the framing of, binding guidelines governing interactions between police and other law-enforcement authorities and journalists during protests, public assemblies, crowd-control operations and other events of public importance.
It said the guidelines should include specific safeguards for the dignity, physical safety and security of women journalists, including protection from arbitrary physical handling, intimidation, detention and forcible removal while they are gathering or reporting news.
Delhi has witnessed several protests demanding Kumar's resignation as Chief Election Commissioner over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision process. The Supreme Court will consider the responses of the Centre and the Delhi Police while examining the request for national guidelines and safeguards for journalists covering such events.
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