In a major victory for source protection, the Supreme Court demanded answers from Uttar Pradesh Police for seeking the digital footprint of independent journalist Abhishek Upadhyay. Upadhyay, who exposed alleged corruption in temple donations, was hit with a road-rage FIR, which police used as a pretext to demand his X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube data. Chief Justice Surya Kant questioned the necessity of such digital intrusion.
The Bharat Media Association champions this intervention. Preventing police from using trivial FIRs as a backdoor to expose a journalist’s confidential sources is critical for the survival of independent, investigative media.
