‘Everyone Claims to Be a Journalist’: Supreme Court of India

‘Everyone Claims to Be a Journalist’: Supreme Court of India

NEW DELHI, October 16, 2026 [VoM News]: With the growing number of individuals asserting their “journalistic” identity on the internet through freedom of expression, it becomes challenging for the Supreme Court of India to offer specific protection to individuals who belong to a credible news organisation.

The observations were made by a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi while hearing a petition complaining of harassment of journalists, including women, during the recent anti Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls protests in October in Delhi.

The court suggested that guidelines could be crafted to distinguish between accredited journalists and influencers, social media content creators and others when deciding on their levels of protection.

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Senior advocate Indira Jaising requested a national guideline to be made available for journalists reporting protesters and alleged police personnel pushing and/or assaulting women journalists.

The bench said the claims were “very serious” and requested police investigate the claims. It also instructed the court to not take any coercive action against the woman reporter who has been charged with casteist comments against a police officer.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta has informed the court that it had become “more difficult” to identify journalists as others were identifying themselves as freelance journalists and producing content mainly for social media.

The court also stated that there could be an independent committee of which most of the members are women to review complaints against women journalists.