A division bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohammed Nias said that the press must be mindful of the harm that unjustified comments by media, often based on oral remarks of judges, could cause to litigants.
“On its part, the media cannot be unmindful of the harm that is caused to a litigant’s dignity and reputation through unjustified comments and remarks, often based on the oral remarks made by a judge during the adjudication proceedings, notwithstanding that the litigant ultimately succeeds in those proceedings” the Court stated.
The bench said that courts and even the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud have been requesting the print and electronic media to exercise restraint by deferring discussions on matters pending before the court so that the rule of law can be better served.
The bench opined that the right to privacy, which has been recognised as a fundamental right, includes protection from actions of other private citizens including the press.
“On account of its nature as a right that is personal to an individual, we are of the view that the newly recognised fundamental right to privacy, which takes within its fold the right to protection of one’s reputation as well, would merit classification as a fundamental right that protects an individual, not only against arbitrary State action, but also against the actions of other private citizens, such as the press or media. We trust, therefore, that the media will take note of these observations and adopt a code of responsible journalistic conduct that will inform news reporting in the days to come” the bench said in its judgment.
It, therefore, urged media to adopt a code of responsible journalistic conduct while reporting the news.
The division bench’s observations came on an appeal moved by one, Priya Varghese against the order of a single-judge that had directed the Kannur University to re-examine her credentials to be appointed as an Associate Professor.
Source: Barandbench
