Supreme Court Cracks Down On 'Media Trials', Wants Guidelines In 3 Months
NDTV
Top police officers of each state have been told to submit suggestions to the ministry within a month and the next hearing is in January, a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said.
The Supreme Court has taken strong exception to 'media trials' - referring to "biased reporting (that) gives rise to public suspicion the person has committed an offence" - and directed the Union Home Ministry to prepare guidelines for police to follow during press briefings in relation to criminal cases. The ministry has three months prepare a detailed manual.
The top police officers of each state and the National Human Rights Commission have been directed to submit their suggestions to the home ministry within a month and the next hearing has been set for January, a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said, underlining the need to sensitise police personnel in this regard.
"Administration of justice is affected by 'media trials'. Need to decide at which stage (of investigation) details should be disclosed. This is a very important issue because it involves interests of victim and accused. It also involves the interest of the public at large... media report on crime-related matters involves many aspects of public interest," the court said.
