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New Delhi: On Monday, the Delhi High Court issued notices to Republic TV Y Times now in a petition filed by 34 leading Bollywood producers and four industry associations, to prevent the two channels from holding a “media trial” against film personalities and interfering with their right to privacy.
According to the petitioners, the two channels have described Bollywood personalities as “criminals”.
A bank run by Judge Rajiv Shakdher led Republic TV Y Times now do not upload “defamatory content” on your social media accounts or display it on your channels. It even registered a guarantee given by the attorney for the two channels that they will follow the Program Code and Cable TV Rules.
“From now on I hope you will follow the code,” Judge Shakdher commented orally while listening to the petition, which has attacked the “irresponsible, disparaging and defamatory” comments made by the two channels against the Hindi film industry and its members in the wake of Sushant. The death of Singh Rajput and the subsequent arrest of her friend Rhea Chakraborty.
In the lawsuit, filed on October 12, Republic Television Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami and Consulting Editor Pradeep Bhandari, and Times nowit is Editor-in-Chief Rahul Shivshankar and Group Editor (Politics) Navika Kumar have been named as respondents.
Judge Shakdher also said there is a law and some people have to be told to follow it.
“The defendants cannot say that I cannot follow the law,” she added when Malvika Trivedi, a lawyer for Republic TV, said that a case cannot be grounds for the court to “make a law” and that it cannot ignore the contribution of the media to keep the public informed.
The court sent the matter to December 14 for an additional hearing. It asked the defendants to submit written statements within two weeks and also allowed the petitioners to present their rejoinder before the next hearing date.
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‘Participants use bad words because they get so excited’
Production companies, including those run by Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar and Ajay Devgn, have asked the court to lead Republic TV Y Times now channels to refrain from making irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory comments against Bollywood personalities and those associated with the industry.
“The livelihood of those associated with Bollywood is seriously affected by the smear campaign carried out by the defendants. This is in addition to the ongoing pandemic that has resulted in extreme earnings and loss of job opportunities, ”reads the lawsuit filed by the law firm DSK Legal.
Lead lawyer Rajiv Nayyar, who appeared before the petitioners, said that it all started with a report on the suicide death of Sushant Singh Rajput. “Suicide turned into murder, Bollywood turned into criminals, drug dealers, ISI, pro-Pakistani jihadists,” he argued.
Courts have traditionally expressed hopes for self-regulation in the past, put forward leading advocate Akhil Sibal, who appears in industry associations. “So (the courts) have been prudent. But the point is that (course correction) is not taking place, ”he said.
Judge Shakdher accepted Sibal’s point of view and said: “He is right, we expect a fair report.” The judge opined that it is necessary to “lower the tone.”
“There are orders from the NBSA (News Broadcasting Standards Authority), but it seems that the news channels are not following that,” he said.
Lead attorney Sandeep Sethi, who appears to Times now, questioned the maintainability of the suit. According to him, those affected by the reports are not in court, since in matters of defamation and privacy, third parties have no locus to maintain an action.
But the bank asked Sethi to exceed his mandate and sought answers on “bigger questions.” “What should be implemented to change the way reporting is done? All kinds of things are shown, ”said the judge.
“Have you seen the type of language that is used? Now the participants are using bad words on live TV channels because they get so excited. If he keeps inciting them, that’s what happens, ”said Judge Shakdher.
The judge asked Sethi to answer his query as a “court official.” “What’s the next step here if you don’t follow self-regulation?” the judge asked him.
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‘There is no courtesy in speech’
Judge Shakdher also made it clear that the court’s concern was limited to how to report and not what should be reported. “Of course, you can investigate, but you cannot run a smear campaign. It is the way to inform. There is no courtesy in speech, ”he said.
He narrated an incident in which a person was lynched due to incorrect and malicious media reports.
You are prejudging. There is more opinion, less news. What we do about it? It is a general comment across the board. You all have to think about it. It’s a bit disheartening and demoralizes everyone. Even trained minds are affected, ”said the judge.
He noted that when a charge sheet is filed in England, the identity of the accused is revealed as a “person of interest.” “Here there is not even an FIR and people begin to identify the person,” he remarked.
Read also: Why India Needs to Review Messy Drug Laws and Not Bet on ‘Bollywood Cleanup’
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