On Monday, the Supreme Court extended protection from coercive action against the four members of the Editors Guild of India (EGI) until September 15 and asked the Manipur government for its view on transferring their plea for quashing the FIRs and other relief to the Delhi High Court for adjudication.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra, noted the report of the fact-finding committee of the EGI, which identified the four journalists, and said it was not inclined to quash the FIRs as it would need appreciation of facts.

The bench also took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Shyam Divan, appearing for the journalists’ body, that the EGI members had undertaken the fact-finding study in regards to a letter written by the Army on July 12.

The top court said it was not going to quash the FIRs as it will need appreciation of facts at this stage and observed that it will deliberate upon whether the EGI can be asked to move the Manipur High Court or the matter can be transferred to the Delhi High Court. The bench decided to hear the matter on September 15.