Relevance: GS Paper II (Polity and Governance)
Why has this issue cropped up?
Journalists have been hauled up in the past for writing allegedly objectionable articles. But the arrest of R.R. Gopal, Editor of the Tamil magazine Nakkheeran, Chennai, on a trumped-up charge under a rarely used section of the Indian Penal Code is an extraordinary instance of abuse of power.
Section 124
- The Tamil Nadu Governor’s office had complained to the police, seeking to book Mr. Gopal under Section 124 of the IPC, citing some articles published in the magazine.
- This section, seldom used even in colonial times, applies to assaulting high constitutional functionaries such as the President and the Governor with “an intent to compel or restrain the use of any lawful power”.
- It is quite clear that this section was never intended to cover writing articles but rather cases where these functionaries are prevented from exercising their power though criminal force, attempts to overawe, or wrongful restraint.
- Whether the articles in question were in bad taste is the subject for a separate debate. The point is that, however offensive or derogatory, they did not attract Section 124.
Conclusion
By citing them to seek registration of a Section 124 case against the magazine’s Editor, journalists and employees, the Governor’s office has only turned the spotlight on itself unnecessarily. He would do himself a favour by withdrawing the complaint; it is unlikely the Tamil Nadu police will take such a decision on its own.
