What changes have been made to the previous policy? What are the conditions for a journalist's accreditation to be revoked?
So far, the tale has gone like this: Under a new policy on journalist accreditation, the government has established a raft of rules for the media. The Central Media Accreditation Guidelines-2022 outline the conditions for a journalist's accreditation to be revoked if he or she acts in a way that jeopardises the country's security, sovereignty, and integrity, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, or is charged with a serious cognisable crime. The majority of the regulations are based on Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which specifies the limitations on free expression given to all citizens of the country and is intended to serve as guidance for the press and media.
What distinguishes this from the past?
For starters, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's recommendations are more in the character of proscriptions than prescriptions. They're more like censoring regulations than guidelines when it comes to laying out the circumstances for losing accreditation. Previous standards were more generic in scope, however, they did state that if accreditation was found to be misused, it would be revoked. There are ten provisions in the revised guidelines that allow a journalist's accreditation to be revoked.
What is the plan for implementing them?
According to the guidelines, the Government of India will form the Central Media Accreditation Committee, which will be chaired by the Principal DG of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) and comprise up to 25 members nominated by the Government to interpret the guidelines for accreditation withdrawal.
What makes these rules so concerning?
On the World Press Freedom Index 2020, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rated India 142nd out of 180 countries. Even though freedom of the press is not directly specified in the Constitution, the scope of freedom of expression under Article 19 has been widely understood as laying the groundwork for a free press in the country, with later court rulings ensuring it. Experts warn that these standards run the risk of impeding the free media's ability to function. Furthermore, they run the risk of delegitimizing reporting, particularly investigative ones. Any storey critical of the government could now be considered harmful to the country's interests, and it will be up to the Central Media Accreditation Committee to interpret and judge what constitutes defamation when withholding accreditation to a journalist.
What is the procedure for obtaining accreditation for journalists?
A journalist who has worked as a full-time journalist for at least five years can apply for accreditation to the PIB, which is completed following a mandated security check by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Any journalist working for a newspaper with a daily circulation of 10,000 copies, news agencies with at least 100 subscribers, or digital news sites with ten lakh unique visitors is eligible to apply.
Accreditation facilitates access to government offices as well as special events and functions hosted by the Indian government. Only accredited journalists are allowed access to several ministries, such as Home and Defense and Finance.
Has there ever been an attempt to regulate the media?
Several governments have attempted to control the media by introducing norms that are more akin to censorship. The PIB, which is part of the I&B Ministry, suggested a Bogus News Guidelines in 2018, under which a journalist's accreditation might be revoked if they were caught trafficking fake news. This was interpreted as a ploy by the government to offset criticism from other independent media sources who had accused the government and political leaders of spreading false information. Under duress, the order was revoked. Recently, the government suggested a set of laws under the Information Technology Act to regulate digital news material.
Under pressure and criticism, state governments such as Kerala and Rajasthan issued their versions of the rules, which were later rescinded. Before the introduction of private news stations, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made the most notable attempt to restrict the press when he proposed the Defamation Bill in 1988. The Bill was dropped under the pressure of a united media and numerous sections of the public.