The state government issued a circular on May 19, prohibiting civil servants from sharing documents or information with the press without official authorisation
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a global press freedom organisation, has called on West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to take measures to protect journalists, guarantee access to public information and investigate attacks on media organisations.
In a press statement, RSF says that the state government issued a circular on May 19, prohibiting civil servants from sharing documents or information with the press without official authorisation. The circular also restricts their participation in media programmes produced by private entities without prior approval. According to RSF, the restrictions go beyond existing rules and could limit journalists’ access to public information.
RSF highlighted the case of Anandabazar Patrika, a leading Bengali-language daily, whose editor-in-chief Ishani Dutta Ray and news desk head Soma Mukherjee faced a police investigation over a headline published on August 21. The newspaper had described clashes between student groups at a Kolkata university as “saffron hooliganism”, referring to Hindu nationalism.
A week later, Adhikari demanded an apology from the newspaper. Police subsequently launched a criminal investigation following a complaint from a member of the public. The two journalists also faced online harassment, particularly from BJP supporters, according to RSF.
On September 1, a group of men gathered outside the newspaper’s Kolkata offices, raised slogans against the publication and painted parts of the building’s walls saffron. RSF said the police watched as the incident unfolded. The BJP government denied involvement, while online news outlet Alt News reported that several demonstrators were party activists, including an official from its youth wing.
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The Kolkata High Court directed police not to take coercive action against the two journalists until December 15.
RSF also raised concerns over proceedings against Maktoob Media, an independent news outlet that covers human rights, minorities, social exclusion and religious freedom. On September 19, West Bengal police filed a complaint against the outlet over its reporting on comments made by an opposition Member of Parliament about the alleged exclusion of three senior Muslim civil servants from key security meetings during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state.
According to RSF, police described the reports as ‘purely fabricated’ and ‘malicious’ in a letter to social media platform X and sought account-related data. The outlet faces six charges, four of which carry restrictions that prevent the possibility of bail, RSF said.
“The vandalising of the daily Anandabazar Patrika’s offices and the online harassment of its journalists, the restrictions imposed on civil servants regarding the sharing of information with the press, and the abusive legal proceedings against media organisations are all acts of intimidation aimed at silencing the press and obstructing the right to information,” said Célia Mercier, head of RSF’s South Asia office.
Mercier says that the outlook for press freedom in West Bengal was concerning, given that the BJP government had been in power for only around six months. She urged the state authorities to end legal proceedings targeting media organisations, guarantee journalists’ safety and access to public information, and investigate those responsible for the vandalism and harassment against Anandabazar Patrika.
