Indian TV channels face legal action for branding Islamic teacher ‘terrorist’
News networks accused of defaming deceased seminary teacher during India-Pakistan conflict, sparking outrage and legal action
SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) — A local court in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has directed police to file a criminal case against several national television channels and their editors for falsely branding a religious teacher as a “Pakistani terrorist” after he was killed during a military exchange near the India-Pakistan border last month.
The court found that the media’s coverage of the death of Qari Mohammad Iqbal — a teacher at one of the region’s largest Islamic seminaries — was not only baseless but also deeply damaging to communal harmony.
Despite public apologies issued by some networks, the court ruled that an apology does not absolve the media of legal accountability for publishing misleading and defamatory content.
The case stems from the events of May 7, when Iqbal was killed by cross-border artillery fire while buying food for his students in the border district of Poonch. In the hours following his death, major Indian news outlets — including Zee News, News18, and Republic — aired sensationalist reports falsely claiming that Iqbal was a “terrorist” affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a banned armed group. Some even hailed his death as a security “success.”
Outrage followed swiftly. Residents of Poonch who knew Iqbal personally organized protests, demanding justice for what they saw as a deliberate character assassination of a respected community figure.
Police were forced to issue an advisory warning media outlets against spreading unverified claims, particularly during periods of heightened military tensions.
“This kind of misreporting not only disrespects the dead but also provokes fear, division, and emotional trauma,” the advisory noted.
On June 28, the sub-judge in Poonch district formally directed local police to register a First Information Report (FIR) under sections of India’s criminal law dealing with public mischief, defamation, and incitement of communal hatred, as well as provisions from the Information Technology Act related to digital misconduct. The court also ordered a time-bound investigation and required the local police chief to file a compliance report within a week.
In a sharply worded ruling, the court underscored that freedom of the press — while essential in a democracy — cannot serve as a shield for irresponsibility. “Labeling a deceased civilian as a terrorist without verification, especially during wartime tensions, is not journalism — it is misconduct,” the judgment read.
It also emphasized that the media have a constitutional and ethical duty to report facts, not fantasies. “Freedom of expression is not a license to defame or mislead,” the court added.
The smear has not only caused immense pain to Iqbal’s family but has also affected the reputation of the seminary where he taught and stoked resentment among Jammu and Kashmir’s Muslim population — a region already scarred by decades of conflict and mistrust.
The ruling is being viewed as a rare judicial pushback against a growing pattern in Indian media where individuals from minority communities are publicly vilified without evidence, often in line with the dominant political narratives of the day.
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