Overview

• Both journalists have been directed to appear at the Crime Branch station in Panbazar on August 22, with the notices warning non‑compliance could lead to arrest.
• Summons reference FIR No. 03/2025 and invoke BNS sections 152, 196, 197(1)(D)/3(6), 353, 45 and 61, according to copies reported by PTI.
• The August 12 notices arrived the same day the Supreme Court granted Siddharth Varadarajan interim protection in a separate Morigaon FIR under Section 152; Guwahati police say the order pertains to another district.
• The Wire says the summons omitted the FIR date and a copy of the complaint; Varadarajan and Karan Thapar have sought the FIR and pledged cooperation while challenging Section 152 in the Supreme Court.
• Press bodies including the Press Club of India, Indian Women Press Corps and the Editors Guild condemned the action and urged withdrawal of the cases, as reports link the complaints to coverage of Operation Sindoor.