Television journalists are seen outside the Supreme Court premises in New Delhi on January 22, 2020 (REUTERS / Anushree Fadnavis).
A court headed by Judge DY Chandrachud said the court was aware of the dangers such an order could pose, given the fact that there are 700 courts across the country that can do this on a routine basis.
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On Friday, the Supreme Court described its order to prevent Sudarshan TV from broadcasting its program on the entry of Muslims into the civil service as a “nuclear missile”. A court headed by Judge DY Chandrachud said the court was aware of the dangers such an order could pose, given the fact that there are 700 courts across the country that can do this on a routine basis.
“It’s like a nuclear missile, the Supreme Court of India maintains the television broadcast. But we had to intervene because no one else did anything,” said the bank, which included judges Indu Malhotra and KM Joseph.
The court told Attorney General Tushar Mehta that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting allowed Sudarshan TV to broadcast the program with a commitment not to violate any codes.
“But that was all his undersecretary did. He did nothing after the broadcast. The officer never followed up with this to examine whether there was any infraction,” the court told Mehta.
The bank said it defended freedom of expression in no uncertain terms.
“We are aware of the serious dangers that the court order has in a pre-broadcast stage. Tomorrow there will be a civil court that issues an injunction against some broadcasts related to the panchayat polls and all that. law of the land, “added Judge Chandrachud.
The bank noted that the court order against Sudarshan TV could be one of the easiest cases in which many will say it was the right thing to do.
“Does the Supreme Court do it every time there is a complaint? It could have been easy to do it in this case and you can say that we did the right thing. But the danger is what if courts across the country start doing it in hundreds of cases. We are aware that what we can do here, other courts can also do within their jurisdiction, “said the magistrate.
But at the same time, the judges emphasized that prima facie, the show’s content was in poor taste and sought to target a particular community.
Favoring a systemic shift in this regard so that the courts could refrain from entering this thicket in the future, the court said the media must also get a message that targeting a particular community is wrong.
“While we respect the freedom of the media, let this message also reach the media that no particular community should become a target. Ultimately, we all exist as one nation, which has to be cohesive. and not against any community, “said the Court.
“Let the market for ideas be provided in this country. Especially like the Supreme Court, we have seen an emergency and we know how important it is. But we are deeply concerned by the divisive comments,” he added.
The court then gave Sudarshan TV a chance to respond with an affidavit about the changes the channel is proposing to make to the show to persuade the bank to lift the restriction. The channel will present its affidavit on Sunday with its course correction ideas in order to broadcast the remaining six episodes.
He also told Mehta that the government should also suggest how self-regulatory bodies such as the Association of News Broadcasters and the Press Council of India can be strengthened to ensure that media organizations comply with regulations. The Association of News Broadcasters has been asked to suggest measures so that it has greater authority in regulating television channels.
The matter will be discussed next Monday.
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