Media bodies seek new PCI chairperson

Media associations on Sunday urged the Government to appoint a new chairperson to the Press Council of India as the post fell vacant after Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai completed her tenure last month. The Press Council of India (PCI), a statutory, quasi-judicial body to safeguard press freedom, has been without a chairperson for the first time in its history, the Press Association and journalists’ bodies of Mumbai, Assam, West Bengal, Odisha and Chandigarh-Punjab said in a joint statement here.

“The term of the 14th Council ended more than a year ago, but the full 15th Council is yet to be formed, and the post of chairman has not been filled, while the last chairman’s three-year extended term ended in December,” the statement said. Justice Desai, who has been appointed as chairperson of the Eighth Pay Commission, completed her tenure as Press Council of India chairperson on December 16.

The media bodies said the 15th Press Council of India was yet to be constituted completely, as appointments in the categories of editors and working journalists are still awaited. The Press Council of India comprises 29 members, including the chairman, and has a tenure of three years. Currently, 14 people — five MPs, three nominees and six in the category of owners and management — have been appointed to the council. In the absence of a chairperson, the process of the constitution of the Council cannot proceed further. Retired Judges from the Supreme Court are appointed as chairpersons of the Press Council of India.