SC set to hear FT’s India journalists’ plea against police summons over Adani report

The Supreme Court is set to hear a petition by Financial Times over the Gujarat police’s summons against two journalists who report from India for the British outlet. 

The journalists were reportedly called for a preliminary inquiry in connection with a complaint by an “investor” – about an investigation into the Adani Group which Financial Times had published in collaboration with the OCCRP and Guardian in August.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to list the matter for Friday when the journalists’ counsel said that summons had been issued against them “because of an article published in August”, according to LiveLaw. 

The court’s cause list showed that the petition was filed by advocate Sonakshi Malhan on behalf of Benjamin Nicholas Brooke Parkin and Chloe Nina Cornish. The Gujarat police crime branch was mentioned as a respondent.

Sources told Newslaundry that the police summons mentioned the Adani report which the Financial Times published in August, but the journalists who were served the summons are not the same as those who wrote that report.

Chloe is FT’s Mumbai correspondent while Benjamin is a correspondent in Delhi. The Financial Times report was by Dan Mccrum and John Reed. 

This comes a day after Reuters reported forensics firm iVerify as saying that OCCRP partner journalist Anand Mangnale’s phone was likely infected with Pegasus spyware. 

In October, OCCRP partner journalists Ravi Nair and Mangnale had received notices from the Ahmedabad crime branch, asking them to appear for a preliminary inquiry. The journalists had then filed writ petitions challenging the notices.

The Supreme Court had granted Nair and Mangnale interim protection from arrest by the Gujarat police last week. The court had given the Gujarat government two weeks to respond. According to an article published on Wednesday on the OCCRP website, the court is likely to hear the matter again in December.

The OCCRP article also said that reporters who worked on the story “have been targeted with state intimidation and surveillance attempts”.

“Last month, OCCRP partner journalists Ravi Nair and Anand Mangnale were summoned by the crime branch of the Ahmedabad police in Modi’s home state of Gujarat to appear in person for questioning in a preliminary probe based on a complaint by a man identified only as ‘an investor’ who claimed the investigation was ‘grossly malicious’. It is unclear why this is a police matter.”

The OCCRP-led investigation in August had come nearly seven months after US-based investment research firm Hindenburg published a report alleging that the Adani group engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme.