Criminal cases should not be slapped against journalists merely because their writings are perceived as criticism of the government, the Supreme Court said on Friday.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said in democratic nations, the freedom to express one’s views is respected and the rights of journalists are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

The bench was hearing a plea filed by journalist Abhishek Upadhyay, who has sought quashing of an FIR lodged against him in Uttar Pradesh for publishing a news report on the “caste dynamics of the general administration” in the state.

“Merely because writings of a journalist are perceived as criticism of the government, criminal cases should not be slapped against the writer,” the bench said.

While issuing a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government seeking its response on the plea, it said, “In the meantime, coercive steps should not be taken against the petitioner in connection with the subject article.”

The bench noted in its order that the petitioner is a journalist and he published an article with a “casteist tilt” on officers deployed in responsible positions in the state.

It further noted that following the article, an FIR was registered against him.

“The counsel for the petitioner would read the contents of the FIR to say that no offence can be said to be made out by the said FIR. Yet the petitioner is being targeted and since the story was posted on X (earlier Twitter), it might result in multiple other FIRs,” the bench noted in its order.