The Bombay High Court (HC) has asked the media to exercise restraint when reporting on the death case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and also asked representatives of television news channels to be present on September 10, the next date of the hearing of the two petitions presented. by social activists and former senior officials of the Maharashtra police.
The court asked the media to report the case in accordance with the ongoing investigation.
The petitioners have appealed to the court to get the television channels to restrict the holding of a trial by the media in the Rajput case.
They cited that ongoing and biased coverage would hurt the public mind and also tarnish the image of the Mumbai police.
A two-member HC division bench, composed of Justices AA Sayed and SP Tavade, while listening to the petition filed by social activists Nilesh Navlakha, Mahibub Shaikh and Subhash Chander Chaba, was informed by Chief Defender Devadatt Kamat that the Media should avoid exaggerating when reporting the Rajput case.
Kamat noted that some of the television channels had exceeded the guidelines set forth in the program code under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995 and were conducting a lawsuit with the media by exposing the names and details of those named in the case.
He claimed that some television channels had appointed police officers and issued their sentences on the names mentioned in the first information report (FIR) despite the fact that the investigation was still ongoing.
Lead Counsel, Dr. Milind Sathe, and Counsel Chetan Kapadia, represented former senior Maharashtra Police officials.
Among the petitioners are the former General Directors of Police (DGP) PS Pasricha, K Subramaniam, D Shivanandan, Sanjeev Dayal, Satish Chandra Mathur; former Mumbai Police Commissioners Mahesh N Singh and Dhananjay N Jadhav; and former head of the Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), Maharashtra Police, KP Raghuvanshi.
Dr. Sathe argued that the media coverage of the Rajput case was irresponsible and would create prejudice among the public about the investigation.
He argued that the partial 24-hour coverage of the case was also damaging to the image of the Mumbai police and as a result, the court should prevent television channels from conducting a trial with the media.
He prayed in court that it would instruct the government and media regulators to establish guidelines on how and how to cover any pending high-profile investigation, particularly the Rajput case.
Additional Attorney General (ASG) Anil Singh, who appeared on behalf of the central government, said he needed time to respond as the copy of the petition, submitted by former senior Maharashtra police officials, was delivered to him late. Wednesday night.
He also argued that since the petitions involved the media, they should also be allowed to defend their actions before the court issues any order.
The bank listened to the presentations and approved a short order. “The media should exercise restraint and report the case according to the investigation,” the court observed.
The court also ordered the television channels named in the petitions to be present at the next hearing in the case on September 10. The Association of News Broadcasters (NBA), a private body of several television channels, was asked to submit its response before September. 10.
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