Lamenting that there was no mechanism to control the electronic media, the Bombay High Court asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to look into the matter and come out with a mechanism to control the electronic media.
Hearing a bunch of PILs seeking restraint on the television news channels against the backdrop of ‘media-trial’ in the coverage of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, HC a division bench comprising wanted to know as to why there was nothing for electronic media, when for print media there is an act since the seventies.
“You do not seem to be in the mood to ruffle feathers with respect to electronic media,” the judges told Additional Solicitor-General (ASG) of India Anil Singh representing the Government.
“For the print, there is the Press Council for the films there is the Censor Board… what about a similar statutory body for the electronic media…” a division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G. S. Kulkarni noted.
“Times have changed... This is the most misused freedom now, as CJI has said.....You should have something for electronic media. We are saying this out of concern. Everyone seems to have an unfettered licence to say whatever they want to. There is such hue and cry, the entire system will break down, if you do not do something,” the Judges told the ASG.
At one stage, the judges observed: “Let the investigative journalism continue, it is legitimate, let them do their work, but not to such an extent... All we are saying there is no mechanism to control the electronic media”.
“So much is happening, who is going to look into it. At this point, it is left to the wisdom of the legislature and judiciary. Why is the media exempted from such scrutiny? Why should citizens come to court every time? It is not good for the media as well.... It is an urgent situation, the ministry must look into it urgently,” the Judges observed.
The HC bench was responding to the ASG’s contention that “Time and again, courts have held that minimum interference should be there from the government. there should be self-regulation. The National Broadcasters Association (NBA) has their own code and guidelines....It is not like we are not acting, we take action, we step in and take action”.
The Judges said that the HC bench was acting only in those cases, where the media channel is not a member of NBA. “If he is not a member, then we send it to the channel, if the channel takes no action, then there is an inter-ministerial committee to take action,” the ASG responded..
The HC bench wanted to know if there is a mechanism for surveillance of ministry or prior censorship “Are actions taken by existing mechanisms only after complaint? Is any machinery to check the
media channel is following the law, before the "so-called damage" is caused?,” the judges asked.
Senior Council Arvind Datar who represented the National Broadcasters Association (NBA) informed the court that it had imposed fines on several TV channels for objectionable reportage on Sushant’s death case.