Journalist bodies and press associations have condemned the filing of an FIR against senior independent journalist and YouTuber Ajit Anjum, who is covering a series on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Anjum runs a YouTube channel in his name – @AjitAnjumOfficial – with 7.5 million subscribers.
Responding to the FIR, Ajit Anjum posted on X that a “Muslim BLO is being used as a scapegoat against me.”
The Editors Guild of India in a statement said it is deeply disturbed over the filing of the FIR. “The FIR against Mr. Anjum, who currently runs a popular YouTube channel, was lodged at Bihar’s Balia police station after he and his team visited a block-level election office to cover the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls,” the guild said.
Ajit Anjum’s coverage highlighted several alleged irregularities in the revision process, the guild said, adding he has now been accused of interfering with the electoral roll revision, provoking communal discord, and spreading misinformation.
Based on a complaint by an election official, Anjum was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The Editors Guild says it does not seek to defend or refute the contents of Shri Anjum’s reportage. However, the registration of an FIR for what appears to be a legitimate journalistic exercise seems excessive, it said. “Administrators have various means to counter or clarify a media report if they so choose. Criminalizing journalism and invoking serious legal provisions against journalists should not be among them.”
The Editors Guild hopes that better sense will prevail and that journalists, including Ajit Anjum, will not face impediments in the discharge of their professional duties. “All stakeholders must work to safeguard and promote journalism that is both responsible and truthful,” it said.
Press Club statement
In a separate statement, the Press Club of India and IWPC expressed deep concern over the lodging of the FIR) against Ajit Anjum.
“On his YouTube channel, Ajit Anjum had shown how the SIR process was being undertaken in Balla of Begusarai district, wherein many voter forms were being filled and uploaded without the Election Commission’s required documents or photographs. Reporting facts is primary and foremost duty of any journalist and it certainly not comes under the category of spreading misinformation,” the statement said.
Instead of issuing a clarification, the administration chose to take legal recourse, resulting in the lodging of a FIR against the journalist, the PCI said. “Lodging a FIR against him raises serious questions about freedom of press and the mounting challenges to free expression in a democratic set up.”
The Press Club called upon the authorities to ensure that due process is followed and that the rights of Anjum as a journalist and a citizen are fully protected. It says it stands in solidarity with all journalists facing harassment or intimidation for their work and reaffirms its commitment to defending the right to report freely and fearlessly.
The revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar, announced by the Election Commission on June 24, has generated a lot of controversy with opposition parties saying the exercise risked disenfranchising more than 2.5 crore voters, as they may not be able to produce the necessary documents.
