Amendment expands rules on source disclosure orders

The government has proposed an amendment to the Evidence Act that introduces additional circumstances in which journalists may be required to disclose their sources.

The Evidence Act, passed by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in November 2022 and implemented in January 2023, drew concern from journalists regarding source protection. Despite these concerns, the 19th Parliament, with a supermajority of the MDP, passed the bill without substantial changes. President Solih had assured journalists that the issue would be addressed through amendments, but his term ended before the revisions were passed.

The committee completed its review of the proposed changes, but the matter was returned to the committee without MDP support. The current government has stated that it aims to address these concerns. The amendment to the Evidence Act has been listed on the Parliament’s agenda for Wednesday's session.

A key proposal in the amendment concerns Article 136 of the Act, which deals with source disclosure. The current law does not specify the court authorised to issue such orders, allowing for applications to be made to magistrate courts. Under the proposed amendment, these orders could only be sought through the High Court, which must decide within 24 hours.

The amendment also requires that the journalist or employer be given the opportunity to respond within 24 hours, and provides a 10-day window to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

When the Act was originally enacted, source disclosure could be ordered only for offences related to terrorism or national security. Journalists at the time noted that the term "national security" was not defined.

The new amendment, proposed by the PNC government, also does not define "national security" but expands the list of situations where disclosure may be ordered. These include:

Among these, the offence of unauthorised disclosure of confidential information may carry the broadest interpretation. Under Section 514 of the Penal Code, it is an offence for a public servant to knowingly disclose confidential information in violation of official duty.

The bill outlines criteria the court must consider before issuing such an order and elaborates on procedural requirements.

Once approved and published in the Gazette, the amendments will come into force immediately.