Journalist associations and Opposition parties have expressed outrage at the way police sealed the premises of the news agency United News of India on Friday night.
Acting on the order of Delhi High Court, which decided a dispute over the prime property on Rafi Marg in favour of the Centre, the police and central forces swiftly took control of the premises amid fisticuffs with journalists.
The Editors Guild of India said in a statement: “While the Guild does not question the need to implement the high court’s order, what is disturbing is the lack of due process, and the manifestly excessive display of force by the authorities in executing the court’s directions….
"Within hours, and even before the order was made available on the court’s website, a force of hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel had arrived at the UNI’s premises. Journalists, including female staff, were forcibly evicted in the midst of carrying out their duties.”
The CPI had slammed the crackdown even as it was taking place.
On Saturday, CPM general secretary M.A. Baby posted on X: “Such high-handedness, denial of advance notice and time to gather personal belongings, and reported mistreatment, including of women staff, is unacceptable in a democracy and cannot be justified under the cover of a court order. A free press cannot function under intimidation.”
Expressing “deep shock at the manhandling of journalists”, the Press Club of India urged the authorities to take prompt action against whoever was responsible for such “misconduct”, as it “would help instil confidence within the journalist fraternity that right to work of the press is an important part of a democracy”.
Congress MP Randeep Surjewala listed several instances of media crackdown in recent years, including cases against NDTV and the BBC, as well as the arrest of journalist Rupesh Singh in Jharkhand in 2022 for alleged links with Maoists.
In an X post, Surjewala wrote: “The behaviour of police and paramilitary forces with journalists at the UNI (United News of India) campus makes one thing clear: the BJP government’s Hitlerite dictatorial decree. You will be broken. You will be squeezed, if you speak too much…. This hasn’t happened just once, this is a pattern, a method. Bow down, prostrate yourself or the rod of power will strike.”
He said India’s rank in the World Press Freedom Index was 151 among 180 countries in 2025 and 159 in 2024. “The whole world is saying in one voice that there is no space for impartial media in India,” he added.
The Press Club of India and other media groups also slammed the crackdown.
The Indian Women’s Press Corps said in a statement: “While the legalities of the case and the decision of the high court are in the public domain and understandably follow a trajectory, it is shocking that the newsroom of one of the oldest and most respected media institutions in the national capital is witness to such scenes.
“These diminish the institution, endanger freedom of the press and can be seen as a lapse, particularly with regard to the safety and dignity of women in the profession.”
The Delhi Union of Journalists also slammed the police’s high-handedness.
"The UNI’s leased plot of land and office in the heart of Delhi has long been a prime target, with various media organisations vying for its control and ownership. The Union government has dealt a death blow to the news agency by cancelling the lease….
"Our heart goes out to the UNI employees who now face a fresh challenge. We call upon The Statesman management to fulfil its responsibilities, continue to run the agency and pay the journalists and other employees their full dues,” it said.