Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram have been directed not to register cases against journalists at the "drop of a hat", National Human Rights Commission member Justice M M Kumar said on Wednesday.
The direction was given to chief secretaries and the director generals of police of the three states during their deposition to the Commission at a two-day hearing here which concluded Wednesday.
The NHRC direction was given in connection to a complaint filed by Sanit Debroy of the Assembly of Journalists in Tripura and the Commission has given specific directions to that state's chief secretary and director general of police, Kumar said.
“We have told the states' authorities during the hearing that they need to show patience and to give them (journalists) enough space to express their point of view ... We have also told them them don't register cases at the drop of a hat,” he told PTI.
Debroy had appoached the NHRC with his complaint that since the BJP-IPFT government came to power in the state in 2018 many scribes had been attacked and many newspaper offices had been vandalised.
The other two states, whose representatives were present at the meeting, were also directed to do the same.
“I have told the chief secretaries (of the three states) this (Wednesday) afternoon and they have taken note of the direction,” he said.