It is pure harassment, said Dave, adding the FIRs had been registered against journalists merely for their posts on X.In her plea filed through advocate Amarjit Singh Bedi, Tripathi said the four FIRs were lodged at Ayodhya, Amethi, Barabanki and Lucknow, respectively.”The FIRs are politically motivated and attempts are being made to scuttle the freedom of press by lodging frivolous FIRs against the petitioner,” the plea stated.It said the petitioner, through her stories, attempted to point out the facts and reported events that had transpired in the state of Uttar Pradesh.”However, the same has not gone down well within the powerhouse of administration and frivolous FIRs have been filed against her,” the plea said.According to the petitioner, multiple FIRs had been lodged against to create a “chilling effect” and deter her from raising questions on the functioning of the incumbent government.”It is submitted that a free press is the fourth pillar of democracy and cannot be prevented from publishing facts, opinion, and analysis howsoever unpalatable to the ruling establishment,” the plea said.Referring to Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression), the petitioner said the protection available here to journalists reinforced that criticism of a government policy couldn’t form the basis of FIRs.The FIRs were stated be a clear attempt to misuse the law enforcement machinery of the state to silence the her voice.
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