New Delhi: Journalists’ bodies like the Press Club of India (PCI) and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) have expressed dismay at an FIR registered against senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan and Karan Thapar of The Wire by the Crime Branch of the Assam Police. Sedition charges have been invoked under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against them.
The Guwahati Police has directed Varadarajan and Thapar to appear before the Crime Branch on August 22.
The identical summonses stated: “It is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you to ascertain the facts and circumstances from you, in relation to the present investigation.”
While Varadarajan’s summons was received on August 14, Thapar got his on Monday. “Failure to attend/comply with the terms of this notice can render you liable for arrest,” the summonses added.
The summonses were issued by Crime Branch Inspector Soumarjyoti Ray, and he referred to an FIR (No: 03/2025) registered at the Crime Branch under sections 152, 196, 197(1)(D)/3(6), 353, 45 and 61 of the BNS. Section 152 of BNS addresses acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. It effectively replaced Section 124A of the IPC, which was put on hold by the Supreme Court in May 2022.
The PCI and IWPC have said that this was the second such FIR against the news platform in two months. They alleged that the Assam Police unleashed vindictive actions against the journalists through the Crime Branch in Guwahati.
“It is noteworthy that the summonses were issued on August 12, 2025, even as the Supreme Court bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi had granted Mr Varadarajan and all journalists of The Wire protection from any coercive action in an FIR (0181/2025) registered by the Assam Police in Morigaon on July 11, 2025 under Section 152 and other provisions of the BNS. Now, the Assam Police have filed another FIR without mentioning any reason and have asked Mr Varadarajan and Mr Thapar to appear before the investigating officer at the Crime Branch in Guwahati on August 22 — on pain of arrest in the event of non-compliance,” the organisations have said in a statement.
They said that in May 2022, the Supreme Court had ordered the suspension of proceedings and criminal prosecutions for sedition under section 124A of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.
“Section 152 of BNS is a repackaged version of Section 124A. In its writ petition last week, The Wire has also challenged the vires of Section 152, BNS and the apex court issued notice to the Assam government and others,” the journalists’ bodies said.
“While we welcome the relief given by Supreme Court to The Wire and Mr Varadarajan last week, the registration of a new case against him and Mr Thapar makes it apparent that Section 152 has become a tool with which to target the media in India,” they said, demanding immediate withdrawal of these cases against the senior journalists, as well as the withdrawal of the “draconian” Section 152 of BNS, which “threatens freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19(1)a of Indian Constitution”.
“As can be seen from the actions of the Assam Police, Section 152 of BNS has been weaponized to chill the press into silence,” they said.
The FIR is apparently based on complaint filed by a BJP leader over a story published in The Wire on June 28, based on a presentation by India’s defence attache to Indonesia, Captain (Indian Navy) Shiv Kumar.
