On September 13, the Supreme Court ordered the government to create a handbook outlining the dos and don’ts of briefing the media, particularly in delicate situations, while preserving the integrity of the inquiry and the rights of both the accused and the victim.
What Supreme Court said?
According to a bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, police briefings should customized to the specific needs and characteristics of each case. Police briefings that set up media trials that predetermine an accused person’s guilt should avoided at all costs. Until a court of law finds someone guilty, they presumed innocent.
The reputations of both the accused and the victims would suffer from biased reporting. Additionally, it might scuttle the probe. “The right to privacy is also a casualty,” the Court said.
The Bench stated that the prior handbook was more than ten years old. Senior attorney Gopal Sankaranaraynan stated as an amicus curiae that significant developments have since taken place, primarily as a result of the emergence of social media. The Court concurred that it was important to strike a balance between the rights to information, a fair trial, an appropriate investigation, and the rights to privacy and dignity of the accused and victim in a case.
The National Human Rights Commission and State police chiefs invited to contribute to the manual’s preparation by the Court, which gave the Home Ministry three months to complete. The next hearing set for January.
Similar to this, a three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice (retired) R.M. Lodha said in August 2014 that security forces should stop presenting accused people in front of the media since doing so is an insult to their person and dignity.
Even remarks made according to Sections 161 (before the police) and 164 (before a judicial magistrate) of the Criminal Procedure Code publicized in the media, the Court had emphasized.
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