Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday, February 12, issued notice to the state government concerning the impending expiry of accreditation cards for journalists, which are set to lapse on February 28.
A two-member bench comprising the Chief Justice of the High Court, Aparesh Kumar Singh, and Justice GM Mohiuddin, on Thursday, February 12, heard a petition filed by the Telangana Urdu Working Journalists’ Federation, alleging violations under the Telangana Media Accreditation Rules and subsequent amendments.
This comes a day after the High Court issued notices to the government seeking an explanation on its media accreditation policy. With no response yet, the Court expressed disappointment and directed the Public Prosecutor to file a counter-affidavit on or before February 26, and instructed all respondents to submit their responses before the next date of hearing.
Observing that any further delay could result in journalists losing professional access due to the lapse of accreditation cards, the bench advanced the hearing for February 26 to ensure resolution before the end of the month.
Appearing for the Telangana Urdu Working Journalists’ Federation, Advocate Barkat Ali Khan emphasised that the accreditation card function is a crucial institutional safeguard for members of the media fraternity and that the impugned Government Orders are violative of Articles 14, 16, 19, and 21 of the Constitution, besides being contradictory to the respondents’ own governing rules.
“Any break in the validity of accreditation would infringe the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression and to life, liberty, and dignity guaranteed under the Constitution of India, and would adversely affect hundreds of journalists’ families,” he pleaded to the Court.
