India: CASR Strongly Condemns the Raid and Targeting of Journalist Ravi Nair
We hereby share a press statement published by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) on August 19.
STOP INTIMIDATING JOURNALISTS WHO EXPOSE STATE CORPORATE NEXUS! DEFEND PRESS FREEDOM!
The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) strongly condemns the raids conducted by the Gujarat Police at the residences of journalist Ravi Nair in Delhi and Kerala on 17 August 2026 and the seizure of electronic devices belonging to Nair, his son and a colleague.
The action came days after the Gujarat High Court declined to quash an FIR against Nair relating to his reporting on a Washington Post investigation concerning alleged investments by the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the Adani Group. The reported seizure of devices belonging to persons who are not accused in the case is particularly disturbing.
TARGETING JOURNALISTS WHO EXPOSE CORPORATE-STATE NEXUS
Ravi Nair’s targeting must not be viewed in isolation. Journalists investigating powerful corporations, government policy, natural-resource exploitation, land acquisition and the use of public resources have increasingly faced legal intimidation and pressure.
The targeting of journalists who report on the Adani Group is particularly concerning. Investigative journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta has faced multiple civil and criminal proceedings connected with his reporting on Adani-related matters. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), seven proceedings involving Guha Thakurta remain ongoing, while Ravi Nair is also facing multiple proceedings.
RSF has documented numerous legal actions brought by Adani Group companies against journalists and media organisations since 2017, including cases involving Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Ravi Nair, The Wire, NewsClick and others. Such repeated litigation can have a serious chilling effect on investigative journalism, even where the underlying allegations remain contested before courts.
SUPREME COURT AND SAFEGUARDS FOR JOURNALISTS’ DIGITAL DEVICES
The seizure of Ravi Nair’s devices is also particularly concerning in light of proceedings before the Supreme Court of India in Foundation for Media Professionals v. Union of India.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court directed the Union government to formulate guidelines governing the search and seizure of digital devices by investigative agencies. The Court recognised the particular concerns arising where journalists’ devices are searched because such devices may contain confidential sources and sensitive journalistic material. The proceedings concern important constitutional questions involving privacy, freedom of speech and expression, journalistic sources and protection against arbitrary access to digital information. The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court.
Journalists and activists who expose the corporate loot of natural resources, displacement of communities, mining, land acquisition, environmental destruction and preferential treatment of powerful corporations perform an essential democratic function.
Across India, struggles over Jal, Jungle, Jameen have brought Indigenous and Adivasi communities into conflict with powerful economic interests. Those documenting these struggles and questioning the policies that facilitate dispossession must not be criminalised or intimidated. The case of Ravi Nair therefore raises a larger democratic question:
CASR DEMANDS
Immediately stop the intimidation and harassment of journalist Ravi Nair.
Ensure strict compliance with Supreme Court safeguards concerning the search and seizure of digital devices.
Protect journalistic sources, confidential communications and unpublished material.
Return devices belonging to persons who are not accused, subject to lawful requirements.
Ensure that criminal proceedings are not used to suppress legitimate investigative journalism.
Protect journalists investigating corporate power, natural-resource exploitation and government policy.
Defend the constitutional freedoms of speech, expression and the press.
CASR stands in solidarity with Ravi Nair and all journalists facing legal harassment for investigative reporting on powerful corporate interests. We call upon journalists’ organisations, civil liberties groups, lawyers, academics, trade unions, student organisations and democratic forces to resist the criminalisation of independent journalism.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST STATE REPRESSION (CASR)
Organising Team:
(AIRSO, APCR, ASA, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, bsCEM, CEM, COLLECTIVE, CRPP, CSM, CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telangana, Fraternity, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Janashakti, LAA, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Mazdoor Patrika, NAPM, Nazariya Magazine, Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajwadi Janparishad, Samajwadi Lok Manch, Bahujan Samajwadi Manch, United Peace Alliance, WSS, Y4S)
