SC restrains Assam Police from arresting journalist Siddharth Varadarajan

The Supreme Court has restrained Assam Police from taking any coercive action against senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan in connection with an FIR lodged against him over an article on Operation Sindoor.

The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi on Tuesday (August 12) issued the notice on a PIL filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism, which runs the news portal The Wire, challenging the constitutional validity of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

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What the law says

Section 152 of the BNS deals with any “act endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India”.

“Whoever, purposely or knowingly, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or by electronic communication or by use of financial means, or otherwise, excites or attempts to excite, secession or armed rebellion or subversive activities, or encourages feelings of separatist activities or endangers sovereignty or unity and integrity of India; or indulges in or commits any such act shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine,” it reads.

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Why FIR was filed

The FIR against Varadarajan was registered after an article was published in The Wire on Operation Sindoor, under which India targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in May in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

The top court asked the members of the foundation and Varadarajan to cooperate with the investigation into the matter. The Bench tagged the matter with a similar pending plea in which notice was issued on August 8.

(With agency inputs)