Chandigarh, January 7, 2018: Justifying its report exposing alleged weaknesses in Aadhaar system, The Tribune newspaper on Sunday made it known that it would use available legal ways to counter the allegations made in the FIR registered against it and its reporter on complaint by Aadhaar authorities.
In the official statement, the newspaper's Editor-In-Chief, Harish Khare expressed resolve to defend their investigative story published with honest intent in public interest.
The text of The Tribune Editor-in-Chief’s statement on Aadhaar FIR:
My colleagues and I are grateful for expressions of support and solidarity from media organisations and journalists.
We at The Tribune believe that our stories were in the nature of a legitimate journalistic exercise.
Our stories are in the best traditions of responsible journalism.
Our story was in response to a very genuine concern among the citizens on a matter of great public interest.
We regret very much that the authorities have misconceived an honest journalistic enterprise and have proceeded to institute criminal proceedings against the whistleblower.
We shall explore all legal options open to us to defend our freedom to undertake serious investigative journalism.
Harish Khare,
Editor-in-Chief,
The Tribune