‘Killing the messenger’: Allahabad HC stays FIR against journalist over school report

Lucknow: In a sharp rebuke to the state administration, the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed the coercive step of registering an FIR against a Lucknow-based journalist who had exposed the crumbling infrastructure of a government school, terming the move an attempt to “kill the messenger” rather than fix the problems.

The division bench of Justices Abdul Moin and Pramod Kumar Srivastava observed that the government’s reaction appeared to stem from hurt ego instead of a genuine intent to address the deficiencies in the education system. The court underscored that authorities were duty-bound under the Right to Education Act, 2009, to ensure that schools complied with minimum standards, and should have used the media report as a wake-up call to improve conditions.

The stay order came on a petition filed by reporter Amit Yadav, who had challenged the first information report lodged against him on August 24 at Gosaiganj police station under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Yadav had visited Purva Madhyamik Vidyalaya in Gosaiganj on August 20 as part of his beat reporting. His story painted a grim picture of the school, pointing to filth-choked toilets, absence of safe drinking water and other basic amenities missing from the campus.

In response, instead of ordering an inquiry or remedial measures, the administration triggered a police case. The FIR claimed that the school was in “excellent condition”, its toilets were clean, and accused Yadav of trespassing, disrupting classes and pressuring two women teachers into making statements. It also insinuated that his report was politically motivated.

The High Court, however, was not convinced. Examining the photographs submitted by Yadav, the bench noted that they prima facie revealed the “abysmal condition” of the school’s sanitation facilities and overall premises. The judges remarked that the state’s decision to criminalise the journalist’s work amounted to retaliatory action and sent a chilling message to others who might wish to highlight similar lapses.

Instead of punishing the reporter, the court said, the concerned departments should have acted swiftly to rectify the shortcomings he brought to light.

In addition to staying the FIR, the bench directed Uttar Pradesh’s additional chief secretary for basic education to file a personal affidavit within four weeks, detailing the current state of the school and the steps taken, if any, to improve its infrastructure.

Reacting to the order, Yadav took to social media to express gratitude to the court, calling the judgment a “victory of truth over lies”.