Media trials

IN BALI, Police arrested nine Australians accused of drug smuggling with a so-called “Enforcer”,  was believed that the said enforcer is “God-Father” of the smuggling ring. On other side lawyers for two  of nine Australians  says their clients are maintaining they were told their families would be harmed if they didn’t smuggle drugs into Australia. The Australian media high­lighted the matter. The Commissioner of Australian Police confessed that the said case is turning into a trial by media and has warned the media about the reporting of the case. The media also  start the investigation at their own level and the intelligence coming out on the way the investiga­tion is being conducted. The media trial  of  that case in Australia raised issues regarding the investigation, security and protection of the family members of accused and witnesses. It is obviously a highly sensitive issue and one that we deal it with very seriously.

IN INDIA, Media is as powerful as compare to the developed country’s media and has equal class of reporting of matters. Here, before some time media started investigation of the cases at their own level and they reported it in print media and broadcast in electronic media. Firstly Tehela­ka.com turned the way of investigations of matters -2-through media and bursted high level security scam of India in which ministers and Bureaucrats were involve in the scam. The said case and its inves­tigations was telecast by the media for public and thereafter government was forced to probe the case through CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) by print and electronic media. After getting inspira­tion, one TV News channel open the loopholes of the security arrangements around parliament which was recently tightened by the government after the terrorists group’s attack on parliament. The said TV news camera-person (with hidden cameras) entered in Parliament without showing valid V.I.P. Pass on the gate to security personnel with a look-a-like person of Shri Shatrughan Sinha (Former Bollywood actor and M.P.) who then leave the Parliament after one and a half hour and telecast the same many times on their channel to get influence the public and viewers about the bad security arrangements of our Parliament. The police registered a case against TV news persons and the said look-a-like  person of Shri Sha­trughan Sinha, lateron the TV personnel  were acquitted from the charges by the court and framed the charges against the look-a-like person.

T.V. news channels who telecasted the above cases got huge publicity and their TRP ratings increased day by day. The other T.V. news channels also started sting-operations to get publicity and increased viewers ratings of and for their News channels.

After sometime one leading TV news channel makeover the face of media when the channel tele­cast a Porn CD’s clippings on TV between the news in which the said TV news channel made accused Ms. Anara Gupta (Miss Jammu) who charged with appear­ing in the Porn CD and was deemed guilty without trial, the police also made her accused of featur­ing in the pornographic CD. While custody, Anara Gupta made confessional statements before the media about  glamour industry’s hard facts and confessed working in Porn Film. During trial the courts prohibits Ms. Anara Gupta to talk with media about the proceedings of the case and evi­dences. To confirm and to get the scientific evidence from the case the Jammu police sent the said porn CD to Chandigarh for forensic  research­es and analysis, the experts confirmed featuring of her in Porn Film CD, but another forensic science lab denied the appearance  of Anara Gupta in Porn Film CD. Thereafter, Jammu police request­ed Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir to  quash the FIR. The said incident, creates the life of Anara Gupta become a nightmare. Later she demands CBI probe into the research of forensic lab of Chandigarh. She also demand a compensation of Rs.1 crore from government of Jammu and Kashmir and also Anara Gupta filed application through counsel in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shri Sanjeev Gupta to allow her to talk with media about the case.  In this case the court warned the media to stop media trial and proceedings of the case. Media crossed all the boundaries and barri­ers while dealing with the case.

Reporting by media of the said case opens new era for media to start their own trial and show anything on their channel and after getting inspi­ration from the Anara Gupta case, another news channel telecast clipping of  three RJD MLS’s bed-moments captured by hidden cameras. Then, all the three MLS filed sue of defamation against the said TV news channel. The said TV news channel again unearth the porn film CD racket working in a renowned  temple of India. The telecast of the clipping creates penic in public. The said TV news channel again telecast a hard fact of casting-coutch  of Bollywood film industry and TV serials industry when they made Shakti Kapoor and Aman  Verma an accused of sexual harassment of a unknown girl who wants to start her career in acting. Media again crossed all the boundaries when they sent massages to peoples on their mobile phones saying “Your date with Ruchi-India TV’s most wanted undercover reporter-It at 8:00 P.M. To­night”. The said massage was also received by another on 2nd April, 2005. Actually, media didn’t want to rule out the limitation and boundaries of administration, justice in a civilised country and they sometimes make fun of democracy and leniency of our law.

In DDA land scam case, media again crossed their boundaries and had started their own trial and reportedly made other offenses against the accused persons. The Hon’ble Court finds that media trial interrupted investigations of the matter and then warned the media to stop one sided trial when the matter sub-judice.

In a recent case Supreme Court of India  cautious media on one sided reporting of criminal trials and stated  “the  terming trial by media as a `distributing factor’ in the administration of justice”. The observations came from a bench of Hon’ble Justice N. Santosh Hegde and S.B. Sinha while dealing with a case of alleged dowry death in Kolkata. The Apex Court was jurious over an article titled “Doomed by Dowry” based on the interview of the family of deceased in a Bangla Magazine when the application for the grant of anticipatory bail was disposed by the Kolkata High Court. Citing  the one-sided version of the case in the article, the bench said “The fats warrant therein are all material they may be used in the forthcoming  trial in this case and we have no hesitation that this type of article appearing in the media would certainly interfere with the administration of Justice.  The Bench said “others concerned in Journalism would take note of this displeasure expressed by us for interfering with the administration of justice”.

In the murder case of Shankar Guha Niyo­gi, the accused were found guilty by trial court and sentence to imprisonment for life except one who was awarded death sentence. High Court re­versed the trial court judgment and acquitted the accused. A report was published in newspaper ‘Hitavada’ on 4th July, 1998 under the caption “Sail terms High Court decision in Niyogi murder case as rubbish’. The news report termed the decision as rubbish and commented that a judge who was on verge of retirement should not have been entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with such a crucial case. The news report also quoted Rajendra Sail  as saying that he was a key witness in the murder trial and inspite of engaging a well known advocate as public prosecutor nobody could have made much difference when the judges were already prejudiced and that one of the judges who decided the matter was bribed and that the judge possessed properties disproportionate to his income. Supreme Court of India held that judgments of courts are public documents and can be comment­ed upon, analyzed and criticized, but it has to be in dignified manner without attributing motives. A free press is one of very important pillar on which the foundation of rule of law and democracy rests and that freedom must be exercised with utmost responsibility. Rajendra Sail Vs. Madhya Pradesh High Court Bar Association 2005 (2) LRC 156 (SC).

One leading TV news channel indulge in allegedly showing the rates of Satta-Market before starting of Cricket matches on television screen, encourage peoples to involve in such illegal activities. The said facts shows that media didn’t want to become responsible towards administration, justice and constitution of India.

Actually, media is mirror of society of a country works for it’s development and better­ment, it plays significant rate in a society but some times media crosses it’s limits  and shows indignity when it becomes painful for the society and the administration of country too. Sometimes media plays their role sincerely when they actual­ly works for the best of peoples and bursted, exposed alleged illegal sale of eye-cornea by the staff of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi through a sting-operation and on same day in a similar sting-operation media exposed the alleged role of eye-balls at an eye-bank in Agra, thereafter the angry crowed attacked upon the staff of eye-bank following the telecast of video clippings of sting-operations.

The above incidents and facts raised some questions regarding the acts of media. These questions and issues  must have to be decided by law and our law experts as according to our con­stitution and other laws.

1. Whether the media is entitled to operate sting-operations at any place where cameras are not allowed ?

2.  Whether the media entitle to fix hidden cameras in a persons room  ?

3. Whether media violates the rights of citi­zen’s mentioned in our Constitution ?

4. Whether the media is entitled to telecast the clippings of any porn video on television during day or night hour ?

5. Whether the media is permitted to record or capture personal moments of any one ?

6. Whether any confessional statement given by accused to media is admissible or not, when the matter Sub-Judice ?

7. Whether the media entitle to telecast or print their own trial? (specially in the case of state Vs Dhananjay when the accused was awarded  death penalty by the Supreme Court and the media represent the accused as “Shaheed” whose parents requesting the Hon’ble President of India, to forgive the accused, on television, but media didn’t telecast anything pertaining to the family of a little girl who was raped and then murdered by the accused).

8.  Whether the media actually works for the interest of Justice, administration and public ?

Delhi.                                      

(DEEPAK SAINI)

ADVOCATE

Ch.No.B-95, B.G.S. Block,

Tis Hazari Courts,

Delhi-110054

(Published in Law Reporters on Crime 2005 Vol. 2)