A group of press bodies Thursday expressed concern over the government threatening The Hindu newspaper with action under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for publishing articles on the Rafale deal based on documents stolen from the Defence Ministry, and said the legislation needs to "re-examined".
In a joint statement, Press Club of India, Indian Women's Press Corps and Press Association said, "We feel it is time that the Official Secrets Act as well as law on defamation need to be re-examined given the potential of their misuse against the Fourth Estate."
The joint statement by the press bodies said, "These statements in addition to submissions made by the government in court that the Official Secrets Act had been violated, contradict the very idea of a free press in an open democracy like ours."