Assam Police lodge FIR against Siddharth Varadarajan, Karan Thapar, Editors Guild expresses concern

August 19, 2025 by News Desk

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has strongly condemned the Assam Police for registering FIRs against senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan, Founding Editor of The Wire, and Karan Thapar, Consulting Editor of The Wire, accusing them of “endangering the sovereignty of India.”

The Guild has demanded immediate withdrawal of the cases, calling them a blatant attempt to muzzle independent journalism.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Guild said it was “deeply disturbed” by reports that the Assam Police have summoned both journalists to Guwahati on August 22. The summons comes just days after the Supreme Court had granted Varadarajan protection against any “coercive action” in connection with another FIR lodged over an article published by The Wire.

“This practice of repeatedly invoking criminal provisions against journalists, forcing them into prolonged legal battles, is nothing short of harassment. The process itself has become the punishment,” the Guild said.

It added that the latest FIR once again invokes Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a provision that it described as “a repackaged form of the colonial sedition law that the Supreme Court suspended in 2022.”

“The reintroduction of sedition in a broader, harsher form under the BNS goes against the very spirit of the Court’s order,” the statement noted. “Instead of addressing concerns about misuse, the government has widened the scope of this draconian law.”

The Guild also pointed out that the case includes other provisions such as Section 196 (communal enmity), Section 197 (false propaganda), Section 353 (public mischief), Section 45 (abetment), and Section 61 (criminal conspiracy).

“This growing trend of using multiple legal provisions to silence journalists is a direct assault on press freedom,” the Guild asserted. “Honest journalism can never be a crime. Laws must be upheld, but they cannot be weaponised to intimidate those who hold power to account.”

The statement concluded with a reminder to the journalistic fraternity: “It is our duty to pursue journalism without fear or favour. If journalists are silenced, democracy itself suffers.”