Legal notice served to EGI president, members
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, September 24 2023: In connection with the fact-finding report on the media's reportage vis-a-vis the ongoing violence in Manipur prepared and submitted by a three-member team of Editors' Guild of India (EGI), a legal notice has been served to four EGI members including its president.

The legal notice was served jointly by All Manipur Working Journalists' Union (AMWJU) and Editors' Guild Manipur (EGM) through their respective counsels advocate Haobam Prabir Kumar Singh C/o senior advocate Sapam Biswajit Meitei and Naorem Prista Devi C/o senior advocate Sapam Biswajit Meitei.

According to the legal notice, the Tribal Solidairty March organised by All Tribal Students' Union Manipur on May 3 led to the present ethnic violence in Manipur.

Amidst the violence, on July 12, 2023, GOC (Information Warfare) Col Anurag Pande sent a letter to the Editors' Guild of India to look into the alleged biased and partisan reports filed by local media and take necessary action.

Accordingly, EGI issued a circular seeking monetary donation from members, journalists and civil society organisations to fund the entire cost of the three-day visit of a fact-finding team of EGI to Manipur.

However, it was very unfortunate that the reputed organisation like EGI, in its fact-finding report, termed media houses in Imphal as 'Meetei Media', the legal notice said and termed the act of the EGI as an attempt to tarnish image of media houses.

The notice also mentioned that EGI's report was not only baseless and based on false narratives but was prepared by siding with an ethnic group.

All Manipur Working Journalists'.

Union and Editors' Guild Manipur had appealed to EGI to clarify about the report thrice.

Apart from this, principal chief conservator of forest, Manipur had also submitted a written letter to additional chief secretary (forest, environment & CC) stating that the report prepared by EGI was baseless and misled people.

The legal notice also said that 33 individuals from Manipur, India and abroad had also appealed to EGI president to scrap the report.

As recommended by the Government of Manipur, the Centre appointed a three-member enquiry commission led by former chief justice of the Gauhati high court to investigate the violence in Manipur.

Preparation of a fact-finding report by EGI despite fully understanding the investigation into the violence by a three-member enquiry commission was an attempt to fuel the violence, the legal notice said, adding that the EGI went beyond its jurisdiction to blame the state government, local media houses and stakeholders based on the complaint of Indian Army and accordingly the report should not be approved from legal point of view.

It further said that contents in the EGI report were baseless and prepared in favour of a community in conflict to further fuel the violence and warned of initiating legal action if the EGI fails to remove the fact-finding report from their social media handlers/website within 15 days.

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