Attack on Free Press: Editors Guild on FIR Against ‘The Tribune’

The Editors Guild of India said that UIDAI’s FIR is “clearly meant to browbeat the journalist” from The Tribune.

Hours after it came to light that a deputy director at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) filed an FIR against The Tribune and its reporter Rachna Khaira, the Editors Guild of India condemned the action calling it an "unfair, unjustified and direct attack on the freedom of the press".

In a press release issued on Sunday, 7 January, the body said that UIDAI’s FIR is “clearly meant to browbeat the journalist whose investigation on the matter was of great public interest.”

Instead of penalising the reporter, UIDAI should have ordered a thorough internal investigation into the alleged breach [of Aadhaar data] and made its findings public. The Guild demands that the concerned Union ministry intervene and have the cases against the reporter withdrawn apart from conducting an impartial investigation into the matter.

Editors Guild of India

The FIR was filed over an investigative report in The Tribune that revealed a racket which “sells” access to Aadhaar database of one billion Indians for as low as Rs 500.

Meanwhile, Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education and co-founder of Akshaya Patra Foundation, countered the condemnation by the Editors Guild.

@rajchengappa Raj do you support the use of bribes for a stolen password to acess a confidential data base? Do you support the commitment of a crime to report? Is rule of law not important for you? Pl look st all issues. As journalist pl uphold the rule of law always https://t.co/VE1A8XUxDr

— Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) January 7, 2018