Plea filed in Bombay High Court to declare journalists as frontline workers

A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed before the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra government to categorise and classify journalists and other staff from the media industry as essential or front lint workers. (Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh v. State of Maharashtra & Anr.).The plea by a journalists' union Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh pointed out that twelve states in India have declared journalists and other media personnel as frontline workers.Since Maharashtra government had not done it so far, the Sangh was compelled to approach the High Court for the same. .The plea said that after the government imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure throughout the State, journalists suffered severe hardships and hindrances in performing their duties as they had not been categorised within essential category. .They stated that since the outbreak of COVID-19, gathering of vital news and disseminating it to people at large became essential. "It is now truer so when the common man is bound by severe travel and other restrictions by law is confined to the four walls of his home that he has become ever more reliant on the news/ public information reaching him through the media and by journalists," the plea highlighted. .The petition also stated that the "authentic information" reached citizens through media, hence the role that the journalists play is of paramount significance.The PIL stated that in a city like Mumbai, most professionals in the media fraternity rely upon local trains as an affordable mode of transport which is currently allowed to be used only by those who are engaged in essential services. The PIL, therefore, sought directions to allow journalists to avail Mumbai local train services..In the backdrop of this, the Sangh prayed for parity with the 12 states where media personnel have been declared as frontline workers. The PIL also stated that a representation had been addressed to the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in May 2021 with the same request but there was no response to the same compelling the petitioner to file the present petition.