New Delhi: Citing the Aarushi murder case,
the Supreme Court on Monday favoured the idea of evolving certain
norms for coverage of criminal cases by the media in order to
protect the right of privacy and reputation of affected
persons.
"These are issues which requires in-depth consideration
and needs to be devoted more time," a Bench comprising
Justices Altamas Kabir and Cyriac Joseph said and posted the
matter for hearing on April 7.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Surat Singh
seeking a restraint on the media from reporting pending
criminal cases in the wake of the sensational murder of
teenaged girl Aarushi Talwar and her domestic servant Hemraj
in neighbouring Noida.
The PIL had claimed the extensive media coverage of
the killings had badly damaged the reputation of Aarushi's
parents Rajesh and Nupur Talwar and sought restrictions on the
media from reporting such cases.
The advocate has suggested certain norms should be
evolved, both for media and police, for broadcasting and
sharing information between them.
He submitted the norms for the media should make it clear
that no innocent person is shown as guilty without the
completion of investigation.
Similarly police should not rush to the media before the
completion of investigation of criminal cases.
There are other petitions pending in the apex court on
the same issue.
Aarushi, the daughter of a dentist couple, and her
domestic help Hemraj were found murdered at their Noida house
on May 16, 2008.
CBI had in a separate affidavit said it agreed that
certain restraints should be put on the media from damaging
the reputation of individuals in pending criminal matters but
at the same time said investigating agencies should share
vital information with the press in public interest.
However, it said departmental action in the form of
both civil and criminal prosecution should be taken against
those police officers who leak news to the media in an
unauthorized manner, causing damage to the reputation of the
persons concerned.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 08, 2010, 20:22