'Dictatorial Orders Impeach Autonomy Of Fourth Estate': Allahabad HC On DM Halting Govt Ads To 'Amar Ujala' Newspaper

In a relief for 'Amar Ujala' Newspaper, the Allahabad High Court recently directed the District Magistrate, Sambhal, to take a 'pragmatic' view in the matter wherein the news daily alleged that they are not being given the government advertisements. It was Amar Ujala's case that the DM concerned passed an order based on a news piece about a Gurudwara dispute. Though a corrigendum was later published by the petitioner clarifying their stand, an order was passed, after which it stopped receiving government ads. They contended that this action of the state respondents was quite 'discriminatory'. A Bench of Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Vivek Saran strongly concurred with the petitioner's contention that there is a forum available to the authorities to approach against the publisher. Endorsing the news daily's view, the Bench observed that "any dictatorial order like the one that has been passed would certainly be impinging upon the autonomy of the Fourth State". Briefly put, a news item was published in the petitioner's newspaper regarding a matter of dispute at a local Gurudwara. On September 16, 2025, the local Commissioner passed an order in the matter. Acting promptly, the publisher-petitioner issued a corrigendum. They highlighted their clarificatory stance in the daily news, specifically the 'Apna Sahar' (Our City), Rampur edition, on September 18, 2025. Despite this, a letter was sent from the Commissioner's office on September 17 to the DM and local police officers regarding the conduct of the petitioner. Subsequently, on October 15, 2025, the DM passed an order "refusing to cooperate with the publication," and as a result, the petitioner stopped receiving government advertisements. Challenging this order, the petitioner moved the High Court and argued that no objectionable publication remained in the news item that could have warranted such harsh action by the district administration. The publisher contended that the District Magistrate passed the impugned order without even verifying the clarificatory publication already made on September 18. On the other hand, the Standing Counsel for the state submitted that the petitioner was issued a notice on December 17, 2025, and that appropriate orders would be passed upon furnishing an explanation and appearing before the DM. Having perused the records, the High Court held the dispute to be a 'trivial issue' at this stage. The Bench noted that the Commissioner's initial directions had been literally complied with by the petitioner in the September 18 edition itself. Therefore, disposing of the petition, the Court directed Amar Ujala to move a fresh application pursuant to the December 17 notice within two weeks. "…the District Magistrate shall pass an order upon it taking a pragmatic view in the matter, considering the corrections made by the publisher itself in the publication of News Daily dated 18.9.2025, within a period of one week thereafter", the Court directed. The petition was thus disposed of. Case title - M/S Amar Ujala Limited vs. State Of U.P. And Another 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 201 Case Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 201 Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Dictatorial Orders Impeach Autonomy Of Fourth Estate': Allahabad HC On DM Halting Govt Ads To 'Amar Ujala' Newspaper

Sparsh Upadhyay

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