Breaking: Make Press Council of India A party, “we can’t gag the Press”:CJI on plea against Media Houses communalising Coronavirus Pandemic
(Judicial Quest News Network)
The Supreme Bench headed by CJI sa Bobde, Justices LN Rao and MM Shantanagoudar expressed inclination to make solid long-term measures about news items and while stating that only about “taking cognizance, will people understand”. Adjourn the matter for two weeks.
The petition was filed by Advocate-on-Record Ejaz Maqbool on behalf of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind against the communalization of the Nizamuddin Markaz issue unless press council of India (PCI) was made a party to the case.
Petitioner urged the court that there was violence due to the constant biased reporting around the Tablighi Jamaat members.
The hearing was conducted through video conferencing.
CJI maintained that” we can’t curb the freedom of press”. Maqbool persisted with the court in Karnataka there have been incidents of violence and names of people have been made public.
To this, the bench stated that if the petitioner’s prayer was to the tune of killings and defamation, his remedy lay elsewhere.
The plea stated that certain section of the media had been using “Communal headlines” and “bigoted statement” to demonise and blame the entire Muslim Community of deliberately spreading the Coronavirus across the Country.
Petitioner further argued that the media has violated all norms of Journalistic conduct by resorting to such “dog whistle tactics” of targeting Muslims.
This kind of reporting is in clear violation of Rule 6 of the Cable Television Networks Rules,1994 which prohibits any program which contains attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes, it was averted.
“Action of certain section of the media are also against the letter and spirit of the Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards issued by the New Broadcasters Association, which is the regulatory body for news channel. Under the code ensuring neutrality and objectivity in reporting is one of the foremost principles of media regulations.”
[Read the Petition]
