Chandigarh, Jan. 22 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has said that a person holding a public office merely feeling offended cannot be the yardstick on which state action is to be measured.

"Right of reporting as a part of journalistic freedom of speech and expression has arisen much often for consideration before courts. Much often, criticism and satire is hardly cherished by people holding public office and sometimes, the reactions come forth by way of cyber-bullying, sullying or even silencing the critique and criticism," the bench of justice Vinod S Bhardwaj has said.

The court was dealing with a petition by three journalists and an RTI activist, who had sought quashing of a criminal case registered by Ludhiana police for alleged...