Whither freedom of expression? Press Council issues notice to Telegraph for headline

The Press Council of India has issued notice to a reputed newspaper The Telegraph for "projection" of the president of India Ram Nath Kovind "in a satirical manner". PCI issued a show-cause notice to the editor of the Telegraph.

Press Council in its press release said that it has taken a suo moto cognizance of the news item published in The Telegraph on March 17 and that "satirical comments ridiculing and denigrating the first citizen of the country is uncalled for and beyond the call of fair journalistic content".

A row had erupted on Tuesday after the Modi government nominated former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for Rajya Sabha with the Congress and other Opposition parties alleging that the "brazen action" by the government subsumes the independence of the judiciary.

Ranjan Gogoi who retired in November 2019, said he would speak in detail about accepting the nomination after he takes the oath.