Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) Condemns the Conviction of Journalist Ravi Nair in the Adani Group Defamation Case.
12 Feb. 2026 The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) strongly condemns the conviction of journalist Ravi Nair in the defamation case filed in the name of the Adani Group. This conviction is not merely an attack on one individual journalist — it represents a grave assault on press freedom, democratic dissent, and the people’s right to question corporate power and state complicity.
Ravi Nair’s work has consistently sought to expose the deepening nexus between powerful corporate houses and the Indian State. Instead of addressing the serious concerns raised about crony capitalism, regulatory capture, and the concentration of public resources in the hands of a few conglomerates, the State has chosen to deploy its vast machinery — including investigative agencies and the judiciary — to silence and punish those who dare to speak.
This pattern is neither new nor isolated. Across the country, we are witnessing how the Indian State uses draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a one-sided and arbitrary manner against activists, students, journalists, and Adivasi and marginalized communities who are fighting for their *jal, jangal, jamin* (water, forest, land) rights. Those resisting corporate land grab, mining expansion, displacement, and ecological destruction are branded as “anti-national” or “terrorist,” while corporate plunder of natural resources proceeds with impunity.
The message is clear: those who resist corporate loot are criminalized; those who expose the nexus between the State and corporate houses face defamation suits, imprisonment, and professional ruin. Meanwhile, allegations of financial irregularities, environmental violations, and crony favoritism involving powerful corporations rarely receive the same urgency or seriousness from institutions of accountability.
We are deeply concerned about the role of sections of the judiciary in this broader pattern of repression. Time and again, courts have appeared more willing to entertain corporate defamation claims and fast-track proceedings against journalists and dissenters, while cases concerning corporate accountability or state excesses languish. There have also been instances where members of the judiciary who attempted to take firm positions against powerful corporate interests were abruptly transferred, raising serious questions about judicial independence and institutional pressure.
In a democracy, the press plays a vital role in holding power to account. Defamation laws cannot be weaponized to suppress investigative journalism or intimidate critics. When the judiciary becomes a site where corporate power seeks protection and dissent is prosecuted, it undermines public faith in constitutional institutions.
The conviction of Ravi Nair must therefore be understood not as an isolated legal outcome, but as part of a larger architecture of repression — one that connects the persecution of journalists, the incarceration of human rights defenders under UAPA, the suppression of Adivasi resistance movements, and the silencing of intellectuals and writers. Repression operates across sectors, targeting different sections of society, but its underlying objective remains the same: to shield corporate-state collusion from public scrutiny.
CASR demands:
1. Immediate reversal of the conviction of Ravi Nair.
2. An end to the misuse of criminal defamation and draconian laws to silence journalists and activists.
3. Protection of press freedom and Free speech.
4. Accountability and transparency in matters involving corporate-state relations.
We call upon democratic forces, civil society organizations, journalists’ unions, student groups, workers’ organizations, and all concerned citizens to stand united against this growing authoritarian trend. The defense of one journalist today is the defense of democratic rights for all tomorrow.
Silencing dissent will not erase truth. Criminalizing exposure will not protect injustice. We stand in solidarity with Ravi Nair and with all those resisting state repression and corporate domination.
Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)
Organising Team
(AIRSO,AISF, APCR, ASA, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, bsCEM, CEM, COLLECTIVE, CRPP, CSM, CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telangana, Fraternity, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Janashakti, LAA, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Mazdoor Patrika, NAPM, Nazariya Magazine , Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajwadi Janparishad, Smajwadi lok manch, Bahujan Samjavadi Mnach, United Peace Alliance, WSS, Y4S)
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