Context
The climate, in figures
Every number links to the body that published it. Figures are dated and will be replaced as new editions appear.
157 / 180
India's rank, RSF World Press Freedom Index 2026
Published 30 April 2026 · source ↗
8
Journalists killed in India in 2025, per the Free Speech Collective
Report of 23 December 2025 · source ↗
2
Indian journalists in prison for their work on CPJ's 1 December 2025 census
Released January 2026 · source ↗
117
Arrests for speech recorded in India in 2025, per the Free Speech Collective
Report of 23 December 2025 · source ↗
RSF index rank, 2021–2026
Of 180 countries; lower is better. Source: RSF, via The Wire.
Laws that recur in the record
UAPAAnti-terror law allowing extended detention before a chargesheet; used in several cases on this site.
BNS Section 152Widely described as a successor to the sedition provision the Supreme Court put in abeyance in 2022; under challenge.
J&K Public Safety ActPreventive detention without trial.
PMLAMoney-laundering law applied in some cases against journalists.
Criminal defamationCarried into the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita; filed by complainants of every kind.
IT Act s.69A and IT Rules 2021Account and website blocking.
Civil defamation with ex parte injunctionsThe mechanism in corporate suits against reporters.