‘If a journalist cannot write, who else will?’

If a journalist cannot write, who else will? Why harass Ashis Nandy?

With these questions, the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday restrained the Gujarat police from arresting or even summoning political analyst Ashis Nandy for questioning in connection with a case filed against him for writing a newspaper article.

The article “Blame the Middle Class” had appeared in the Times of India on January 8 this year.

The Supreme Court’s vacation bench, which heard a petition by Nandy, besides quashing a summons issued by a police inspector seeking his appearance for questioning on July 8, declared that “any further summons issued against Mr. Nandy in future relating to the case will stand quashed.”

With this judgment the apex court has struck a big blow for freedom of the press.

J. Venkatesan’s report on the court’s decision can be seen in The Hindu.

Ashis Nandy’s article which angered Gujarat’s Narendra Modi government can be accessed here.