New Delhi: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) vehemently opposes the proposed Income-Tax Bill, 2025,
which grants tax authorities access to an individual’s “virtual digital space” during search
and seizure operations. This provision, justified as a measure to combat tax evasion, poses
a severe threat to the fundamental rights to privacy and press freedom, guaranteed under
Articles 19 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.The ambiguous term “virtual digital space”
allows tax authorities unprecedented access to personal and professional digital
communications, including those of journalists. Such surveillance will have a chilling effect
on press freedom, compromising the confidentiality of sources and hindering investigative
journalism. This undermines the media’s role as a watchdog of democracy and the public’s
right to information.IJU President and former member of the Press Council of India,
Geetartha Pathak, stated, “This bill endangers the freedom of the press by exposing
journalists’ digital communications to state scrutiny. Protecting source confidentiality is
critical to our work, and this provision threatens to silence independent journalism.”IJU
Secretary General Sabina Inderjit added, “The right to privacy is sacrosanct, and this bill’s
lack of clear safeguards endangers every citizen. Unchecked access to digital spaces
under the guise of tax enforcement risks authoritarian overreach. We demand the
government withdraw this provision and uphold constitutional protections.”The IJU urges
the government to scrap this invasive proposal and engage in dialogue with media
organizations and civil society to devise targeted, rights-respecting measures for tax
enforcement. We stand firm in defending press freedom and the right to privacy, essential
pillars of India’s democracy.
