'India stifles free expression, media freedom': Report on Commonwealth nations

India has emerged as a major concern in a report on freedom of expression published by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA), and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

The research report has found that national laws in many member states significantly undermine press freedom and impose undue restrictions on free expression. The report cautions that such punitive laws are increasingly deployed to intimidate journalists, human rights defenders, and critics of the government.

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Dissent stifled, media muzzled

The report says that even though India is a democracy with constitutional guarantees under Article 19(1)(a), its government continues to weaponise archaic and ambiguous laws to stifle dissent and media freedom.

The report notes that India was the world leader in the internet shutdowns in 2024, with at least 116 incidents, most during elections or unrest. These shutdowns, often carried out without judicial oversight, seriously impair access to information and suppress digital expression.

While India repealed its colonial-era sedition law in 2022, similar provisions continue to be used to prosecute critics. The criminalisation of defamation remains a potent tool to silence journalists and activists, the report stated.

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'Defamation suits curb free speech'

Civil defamation suits are often used as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), a tactic that disproportionately affects smaller media outlets and freelancers, the report said.

A senior Indian journalist quoted in the report said that laws ostensibly aimed at tackling disinformation and cybercrime have placed "loosely defined powers in the hands of the government," restricting free expression under the guise of online safety.

The report also highlights the impunity around attacks on journalists. Of the 56 journalists killed in India between 2006 and 2023, the government has failed to resolve any case meaningfully. India responded to a 2024 UNESCO request for case updates but provided no substantive information, the report added.

Bleak picture of South Asia

The report paints a bleak picture across South Asia, with India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives all drawing criticism for legal frameworks that criminalise free speech.

Across the region, colonial-era laws on sedition, defamation, and blasphemy remain entrenched. While Sri Lanka and the Maldives have repealed criminal defamation, other countries continue to use such laws to punish dissent, the report said.

In Bangladesh and Pakistan, blasphemy laws are not only harsh but dangerous. Accusations have led to mob violence, extrajudicial killings, and dozens of death row inmates in Pakistan. Bangladesh, along with Sri Lanka, also failed to respond to UNESCO’s call for accountability in journalist killings, the report noted.

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Digital surveillance, gendered threats

Meanwhile, digital surveillance and cybercrime laws across the region — framed as measures for national security or counterterrorism — have been misused to prosecute online dissent. Broad provisions criminalising “hurting religious sentiments” or “spreading false information” are often cited during arrests of journalists and activists, the report further said.

The report also draws attention to online abuse targeting women journalists and marginalised communities. In a 2020 ICFJ survey cited by the report, 73 per cent of women journalists across 15 countries, including India and Bangladesh, reported facing online violence, ranging from rape threats to digital surveillance.

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Report suggests reforms

The report is published in the wake of the Commonwealth Media Principles, adopted in 2024 by all member states. These principles call for the repeal of laws that criminalise expression, the protection of journalists, and the establishment of accountability mechanisms.

However, the report asserts that “formal affirmations of good intent remain illusory” in many countries, including India and South Asia, where legal reforms have stalled, and enforcement of protections remains minimal.