Siddharth Varadarajan

6 results arranged by date

Kashmir police threaten investigations into The Wire news website

Washington, D.C., July 6, 2021– Police in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir should cease harassing journalist Siddharth Varadarajan and The Wire, and allow journalists to report freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 3, the police headquarters of the Kashmir zone issued a legal notice to Varadarajan, editor-in-chief of the independent news website…

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Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state Yogi Adityanath prays in Ayodhya, India, on March 25, 2020. Police in the state launched a criminal investigation into the editor of The Wire for his reporting on the ceremony. (AP/Amar Kumar)

Uttar Pradesh starts criminal probe into The Wire editor for alleged ‘discord’ during COVID-19 lockdown

New Delhi, April 2, 2020—Police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh should immediately withdraw criminal complaints against Siddharth Vardarajan, editor of news website The Wire, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The police opened a criminal investigation into Vardarajan on accusations of spreading discord, enmity, and rumors during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to…

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The police bodyguard of journalist Shujaat Bukhari is carried away after an attack in Srinagar, in Indian-controlled Kashmir, on June 14, 2018. Bukhari and two bodyguards were fatally shot as he left his office. (AP Photo)

Indian authorities must bring killers of Shujaat Bukhari to justice

New Delhi, June 14, 2018–Indian authorities must ensure that there is a thorough and credible investigation into the murder of Shujaat Bukhari, founder and editor of the English-language daily Rising Kashmir, and bring the killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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An Indian flag is painted on a woman's face during rehearsals for India's Independence Day celebrations in Ahmedabad. A court in the city issued an injunction against the news website The Wire. (Reuters/Amit Dave)

Indian court bars The Wire from publishing stories on businessman Jay Shah

New Delhi, October 24, 2017– The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a decision by India’s judiciary to proceed with a criminal defamation complaint against The Wire and issue an injunction preventing the news website from reporting about Jay Shah, the son of the ruling BJP party’s president Amit Shah, while the defamation case is…

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India's Parliament in New Delhi. A private members' bill to decriminalize defamation will be heard during its winter session. (AFP/Money Sharma)

In India, online campaign seeks to free press from risk of criminal defamation

An online campaign to decriminalize defamation in India is being led by a member of the country’s main opposition party. “Criminal defamation can lead to people being put in jail for something they have said publicly. This law needs to be replaced by a modern, progressive law,” reads the statement on the campaign website.

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Voters queue at a polling station during the state assembly election in New Delhi on December 4, 2013. A major election is due in May. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

India’s independent journalism in doubt in election year

With the dawn of the new year, India is looking ahead to a national election in May. Recent developments raise questions about the quality and quantity of independent news coverage of the polls as local media come under greater political influence.

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