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(i) The need to ensure that the criminal process does not assume the character of a vexatious exercise by the institution of multifarious complaints founded on the same cause in multiple States;

(ii) The need for the law to protect journalistic freedom within the ambit of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution;

(iii) The requirement that recourse be taken to the remedies available to every citizen in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973;

“There is no need to be confused over this point, whatever I have mentioned in my statement, it is true. After watching at home, I also got a clip, which was sent to me from my party office. When I say that I watched it earlier, it‟s the truth, and later I watched a clip, which is mentioned in the complaint that I filed in the police station. If you have read Article 19(1) of the Constitution, where freedom of expression and thought is mentioned but nowhere does it allow crossing the limits or making extreme comments. There are restrictions mentioned and Mr Arnab has violated them. I have a lot of respect of Mr Arnab, he‟s a senior journalist, and he has handled the media well till now but what happened lately. I don‟t know. During his speech, he forgot that he‟s a citizen of this country and a citizen has to abide by the Constitution. I have always supported freedom of expression for journalists but the question is, these comments  involve a clear attempt to incite a riot. Arnab was questioned for along during because he‟s facing a charge of criminal conspiracy, involving IPC 153, IPC 153(a) and others. You raise the point of him being questioned for 12 to 12.5 hours, I want to ask you that this country‟s former home minister and former finance minister P Chidambaram was made to sit for so many hours, why did that happen? You people never raise questions on the reason behind that interrogation. I have heard that clip and Arnab tried to stoke communal sentiments in that speech. No one gave him that right, not even the Constitution.”

32. Article 32 of the Constitution constitutes a recognition of the constitutional duty entrusted to this Court to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The exercise of journalistic freedom lies at the core of speech and expression protected by Article 19(1)(a). The petitioner is a media journalist. The airing of views on television shows which he hosts is in the exercise of his fundamental right to speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). India‟s freedoms will rest safe as long as journalists can speak truth to power without being chilled by a threat of reprisal. The exercise of that fundamental right is not absolute and is answerable to the legal regime enacted with reference to the provisions of Article 19(2). But to allow a journalist to be subjected to multiple complaints and to the pursuit of remedies traversing multiple states and jurisdictions when faced with successive FIRs and complaints bearing the same foundation has a stifling effect on the exercise of that freedom. This will effectively destroy the freedom of the citizen to know of the affairs of governance in the nation and the right of the journalist to ensure an informed society. Our decisions hold that the right of a journalist under Article 19(1)(a) is no higher than the right of the citizen to speak and express. But we must as a society never forget that one cannot exist without the other. Free citizens cannot exist when the news media is chained to adhere to one position. Yuval Noah Harari has put it succinctly in his recent book titled “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”: “Questions you cannot answer are usually far better for you than answers you cannot question.”

33. A litany of our decisions – to refer to them individually would be a parade of the familiar – has firmly established that any reasonable restriction on fundamental rights must comport with the proportionality standard, of which one component is that the measure adopted must be the least restrictive measure to effectively achieve the legitimate state aim. Subjecting an individual to numerous proceedings arising in different jurisdictions on the basis of the same cause of action cannot be accepted as the least restrictive and effective method of achieving the legitimate state aim in prosecuting crime. The manner in which the petitioner has been subjected to numerous FIRs in several States, besides the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of identical allegations arising out of the same television show would leave no manner of doubt that the intervention of this Court is necessary to protect the rights of the petitioner as a citizen and as a journalist to fair treatment (guaranteed by Article 14) and the liberty to conduct an independent portrayal of views. In such a situation to require the petitioner to approach the respective High Courts having jurisdiction for quashing would result into a multiplicity of proceedings and unnecessary harassment to the petitioner, who is a journalist.