The Editors Guild of India and several journalists’ organisations on Thursday spoke out against attorney-general K.K. Venugopal’s submission in court that the government would prosecute The Hindu newspaper and petitioners in the Rafale case for using data from government documents, which the Centre claims were “stolen”

The guild “unequivocally condemns the Attorney General’s comments before the Supreme Court…”, the Guild said.

“…The Guild is perturbed over such threats. These will intimidate the media in general and curb its freedom to report and comment on the Rafale deal in particular.…”

The Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, and the Press Association called for a review of the Official Secrets Act and laws on defamation.