November 11, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 15, 1424

NEW DELHI, Nov 10: India’s supreme court on Monday halted attempts to arrest six journalists sentenced to 15-day jail terms for writing articles criticizing the government of the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The arrests were ordered on Friday by the state assembly for “breach of privilege” in articles and an editorial about Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jayaram’s administration.

A two-judge bench of the court said “every institution, be it legislature, media or judiciary, has to respect other institutions”.

“None of the institutions should cross the fine line or be hyper-sensitive to harsh words of criticism,” the judges said, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Five journalists from The Hindu newspaper were targeted by the assembly after the publication accused the state government of “rising intolerance towards political opponents”.

On Friday night, police went to The Hindu’s headquarters in Chennai and searched the offices of top editors, but did not make any arrests. The six journalists apparently went into hiding.

The Hindu’s editor-in-chief said he was “delighted” with Monday’s court ruling. “Our confidence in the supreme court and highest judicial forums has not failed us,” he said.

“I stand for the cause of press freedom and I thank all who stood with us,” he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani described the verdict as “good for democracy”.

Earlier, a delegation of opposition MPs and legislators from Tamil Nadu met Mr Advani to register their protest at the sentences.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress party have also said the Tamil Nadu authorities acted improperly.

Media groups across India expressed outrage at the sentence, with one group of reporters in New Delhi burning an effigy of chief minister Jayalalitha.

Journalists, wearing black ribbons, held a sit-in protest at a press club in Rajasthan and similar protests took place in East Punjab and Uttaranchal. —AFP