On 17 August, the Gujarat Police Crime Branch conducted simultaneous searches at journalist Ravi Nair's residences in New Delhi and Kerala's Palakkad.
The raids were in connection with a case registered against Nair over a social media post by him regarding allegations that the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) undertook investments in the Adani Group on the instructions of the Union government. Nair had co-authored an investigative report for The Washington Post pertaining to the matter in October last year.
The searches were conducted shortly after the Gujarat High Court declined to quash the FIR registered against Nair. According to reports, the Gujarat Police seized two mobile phones belonging to Nair from his residence in Kerala. At his Delhi residence, the police seized a laptop belonging to his son and the laptop and iPad of his colleague Sachi Hegde, who was present at the residence when the search was conducted.
Neither Nair’s son nor Hegde is an accused in the case, according to reports.
'Totally Clueless About Raids...'
Several officials from Kerala, however, told The Quint that they were not informed by Gujarat Police about the searches in Palakkad.
The Quint spoke to the personal secretary of P Vijayan, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) of the Kerala Police, who said that Vijayan was not told about the searches by his counterparts in Gujarat Police beforehand.
"The ADGP was totally clueless about the raid," Vijayan's secretary said.
Police sources, however, said an intimation was subsequently given to Kerala Police, including the office of the Director General of Police, after the searches had been conducted.
Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan's Media Secretary Roy Mathews told The Quint that, as a matter of procedure, interstate police operations may require coordination with the police authorities of the state where the operation is being conducted, particularly to avoid law-and-order issues.
“There were no signs of such crucial information [raids by the Gujarat Police] anywhere in the corridors of governance here," he said, adding that even in journalistic circles, news of the raids had not been discussed with the "due importance" that the issue warranted.
Congress leader and former Kerala Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan also told The Quint that police forces conducting operations in another state generally inform the local police authorities to secure assistance and avoid possible law-and-order complications.
“Ethically, it is essential for the police force of one state to inform their counterparts when they cross state borders," he said.
However, Radhakrishnan said such prior intimation is not mandatory in every case. He pointed out that there had been instances in which police forces deliberately refrained from informing their counterparts in another state because of fears that information about the proposed operation could be leaked to the persons under investigation.
“Apart from that, think of any law-and-order issue or threat to their lives in retaliation for their operation. They would need some local support from the state police concerned, for which prior intimation at the higher level is essential,” he said, adding, "After all, the Home Department is a state subject on which the state has an upper hand."
Referring to the violence that erupted in Thiruvananthapuram a few months ago after a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the residence of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said that even agencies of the Union government should provide such prior intimation to the state police concerned to ensure backup in crucial situations.
Meanwhile, several politicians from the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) that The Quint reached out to regarding the raids against Nair refused to comment, saying that they want to "study" the issue first.
Kerala Journalists Body Deplores Raids
Suresh Edappal, who's the state secretary of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) told The Quint that Gujarat Police's actions in Palakkad raised serious concerns about press freedom.
"The journalistic community in Kerala deplores the secretive manner in which the searches were conducted. Actions of this nature could adversely affect the process of news-gathering and reporting, particularly when journalists’ electronic devices and potentially confidential professional material are involved."Suresh Edappal
He further said that the KUWJ would issue a detailed statement protesting against the manner in which the searches were carried out.
Gujarat Police's action has raised several questions about the scope of interstate police operations, particularly when they involve the search of journalists’ residences and the seizure of electronic devices belonging not only to the accused but also to family members and colleagues who are not accused in the case.
The controversy also comes against the backdrop of concerns expressed by the Supreme Court of India over the seizure and examination of journalists’ digital devices.
On 7 November 2023, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia, while hearing a petition filed by the Foundation for Media Professionals, described the issue as "serious" and stressed the need for guidelines governing the search and seizure of digital devices belonging to media professionals. The apex court noted that journalists may have confidential information and contacts of sources stored on their devices, and said there had to be a balance between the powers of investigative agencies and the rights of individuals.
The court specifically observed that there must be safeguards to protect the interests of media professionals and asked the Centre to work on appropriate guidelines. It also referred to the fundamental right to privacy recognised by the Supreme Court in KS Puttaswamy (Retd) v Union of India.
The Supreme Court's observations, however, did not amount to a blanket prohibition on the search or seizure of journalists’ electronic devices. Rather, the court highlighted the need for safeguards and guidelines to prevent investigative powers from being exercised in an excessively broad manner.
(The Quint made several attempts to contact Gujarat DGP GS Malik and Gujarat Principal Secretary, Home Department, Sanjiv Kumar, seeking clarification on the alleged failure to inform the Kerala Police before conducting the raids, but received no response. This article will be updated as and when they respond.)
(Jose Kurian is a Wayanad-based senior journalist who has formerly worked with The New Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle. He now regularly writes for Onmanorama Online, Inmathi Online, and 101 Reporters.)