KOCHI: A Full Bench of the Kerala High Court comprising three judges referred a batch of petitions seeking guidelines for reporting of court proceedings to a larger Bench."Having regard to the importance of the issues arising for consideration and the repeated observations made by the Supreme Court and the High Courts regarding the deleterious effect of trial by media, which certainly interferes with the administration of justice, the issue raised require an authoritative pronouncement by a larger Bench. Therefore, it is appropriate to adjourn these cases to be heard by a larger Bench of this court," held the Full Bench.
The Bench comprising Justice P N Ravindran, Justice A M Shaffique and K Harilal also directed the High Court Registry to place the records before the Chief Justice for further orders.Media firms contended there was no need to frame guidelines as the existing regulations are sufficient. In the light of the decision by the Supreme Court in the Sahara India case, the High Court cannot lay down guidelines regarding court proceedings, they contended.