When village-level journalists expose illegal sand mining or Panchayat fund embezzlement, they are routinely targeted with retaliatory, false FIRs by local police acting on behalf of the accused politicians. Reporters are suddenly charged with extortion or trespassing, trapping them in endless legal battles.

The Bharat Media Association demands the establishment of independent district-level media tribunals. Any criminal FIR against a working regional journalist must be pre-screened by a judicial magistrate to prevent the malicious weaponization of local law enforcement against the press.