Journalists Imperiling India's Security In Any Manner Will Lose Govt Accreditation: Guidelines

In yet another constraint on media, the government of India has released Central Media Accreditation Guidelines-2022, which includes a stringent provision under which the accreditation is liable to be suspended or withdrawn if a journalist "acts in a manner which is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence," stated the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on February 7.

The guidelines mention ten such conditions under which the accreditation can be suspended or withdrawn, leaving journalists' PIB status vulnerable to subjective interpretation.

The guidelines had been under process, which led to a delay in renewing the existing accreditation cards. It came after several journalist groups questioned how the Union government has arbitrarily changed practices associated with accreditation.

General Terms

According to the guidelines, accreditation will be given to working journalists, freelance journalists, veteran journalists, cameraperson, and technicians according to eligibility conditions. The guidelines also stated that only those new media organisations would be considered for accreditation that has been functioning/operating for at least one year continuously under the same name (web address) and that the portal's editor should be an Indian national.

The accreditation will be provided to news representatives on behalf of organisations/agencies, including print media, electronic media, news agencies, digital news publishers, and foreign media.

Committee

The Indian government shall constitute a committee called the Central Media Accreditation Committee (CMAC), chaired by the Principal DG, PIB and comprising up to 25 members nominated by the government to discharge the functions stated under these guidelines. After the formation of CMAC, it shall function for two years from its first meeting and shall meet once in a quarter or more frequently, as per the requirement.

Renewal

For the renewal, all the cardholders will have to apply for online renewal of the PIB card annually. The renewal application will be considered according to the extant Guidelines. At the time of renewal, the documents asked for maybe furnished without fail for the renewal to be considered.

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