Criminal Conspiracy And Investigative Journalism: When Reporting Is Mistaken For Participation
- IJLLR Journal
- Mar 28
- 1 min read
Alifiya Aliasgar Boxwala, SVKM’S Pravin Gandhi College of Law
ABSTRACT
In recent times, investigative journalism has played an important role in revealing crimes, corruption, organised crime, political misconduct and abuse. The very techniques that make investigative reporting work require access to the underworld, communication with criminals and suspects, and participation in secret meetings or even brief concealment of information; these activities sometimes draw innocent journalists into the ambit of offences under criminal law. Therefore, I present to you this article, which studies the bitter relationship between the criminal conspiracy offence and investigative journalism. This article will focus on Section 61 – Criminal Conspiracy under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and aims to answer questions such as when does reporting on crime by journalists become participation in crime? Via thorough analysis of Section 61 of BNS, 2023, and protections for press freedom under Article 19(1)(a), this article argues that mere access, documentation, or communication with offenders cannot amount to conspiracy unless there is clear proof of intentional agreement to further the illegal objective.
