Ask the Constitution → Your rights, by who you are
Here is the fact that surprises every journalism student: the Constitution of India has no separate press-freedom clause. The entire freedom of the press rides on Article 19(1)(a), the same sentence that protects every citizen's speech.
Descriptive, not legal advice · text as amended through the 106th Amendment (2023)
19(1)(a) is the whole foundation. The Supreme Court has held that freedom of the press is included in the freedom of speech and expression, but the text never mentions the press. The restriction grounds in 19(2) apply to your reporting exactly as they apply to anyone's speech.
The deep cut: substantially true reports of parliamentary and assembly proceedings are constitutionally protected from civil and criminal proceedings, unless malice is proved. One of the few places the Constitution protects publication expressly.
Liberty and, by judicial interpretation, privacy. Cuts both ways for a journalist: it shields you from arbitrary state action and it protects the subjects you report on.
If you are arrested for your reporting: grounds must be communicated, a lawyer of your choice, a magistrate within 24 hours.
Direct access to the Supreme Court when a fundamental right is violated. Much of Indian press-freedom law was made in petitions under this article.