Ashish Sagar Dixit 

Journalist and HRD

Uttar Pradesh 

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on March 17, 2022, regarding journalist Mr. Ashish Sagar Dixit who is being harassed and intimidated by the Banda police in Uttar Pradesh, who have filed fabricated cases against him and have put his name in the ‘history-sheeter list’. 

On January 05, 2022, two policemen came to Mr. Ashish Sagar Dixit’s home at Vijli Khera, Banda. They showed him a list on their mobile and said that his name is on the history sheeter’s list. They also said that they couldn’t give him any more information or the document and that he should “take the information from the SP or via an RTI”. 

The following day Mr. Dixit sent an RTI application and sought information regarding his name having been put on the history sheeter’s list. On January 09, 2022, the Civil Lines Police Station Kotwali, through the Forest Department office, replied to his application stating, “The history-sheeter against the applicant has been opened on 23 November 2021 under the procedure as per 95A rules. The register is a confidential record. The copy of which is not possible to be given.” 

On the same day, another notice was sent to Mr. Dixit by the City Magistrate, Banda. The notice was based on the report of the inspector in charge of the Kotwali police station, Banda, which stated that he is a person of criminal nature. He was ordered to be present in the district court on February 08, 2022, and tell the court why he should not submit Rs. 50,000 as a surety bond or two ‘bail bonds’ of the same amount. On February 08, 2022, another notice was given to him by the office of the District Magistrate of Banda, regarding his Facebook post. 

We believe that the multiple charges against him, showing him as a hardened criminal, are fabricated and abuse of power by the police personnel and local administration of Banda, Uttar Pradesh. Our Constitution gives journalists the right to exercise freedom of speech. Article 19 (a) the right to freedom of speech and expression is enshrined in our Constitution.