Kerala High Court On Media: Kerala High Court has given advice to the media in one of its decisions. The court has said that the media should not play the role of judicial and investigative agencies in ongoing cases or criminal investigations. The court also made it clear that freedom of speech and expression is important under Article 19(1)(a), but this does not give the media the right to declare any accused guilty or innocent.
A bench of Justices AK Jaishankaran Nambiar, Kausar Edappagath, Mohammed Nias CP, CS Sudha and Shyam Kumar VK made this comment. The High Court said that uncontrolled reporting can create prejudice among the public and can also increase distrust in judicial outcomes. The court warned the media that trying to find an accused guilty or innocent without any concrete verdict could create a kind of 'kangaroo court' in the society.
Media should discharge its responsibility in society
The court stressed that the media has the right to report facts, but should refrain from giving concrete opinions on matters under investigation. Doing so not only violates the rights of the accused, but if the court's decision is different from the media picture, it can also reduce public confidence in the judicial system.
The bench said, “The media itself should draw the 'Lakshman Rekha' and ensure that there is no media trial, which creates hurdles in fair trial and adversely affects the privacy and dignity of the accused and the victim.”
Media trial violates impartiality
The court said that media trials exceed the limits of moral caution and impartial commentary and show the accused as guilty or innocent without any verdict. This is a “serious violation” of the constitutional rights of the accused, victims and witnesses to a fair trial. This decision was given in response to three petitions, which sought to restrict the rights of the media during active investigations and ongoing cases.
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