BENGALURU: Noting that it is high time courts bestow supervisory jurisdiction on print and electronic media when occasions demand, the Karnataka High Court said the persons handling print and electronic media must show utmost restraint in using unparliamentary or defamatory words while reporting news.
Justice V Srishananda made these observations while quashing a case pending against journalists of four vernacular daily newspapers and a media house in Gadag based on the private complaint filed by an advocate.
They have expressed remorse and tendered unconditional apology through affidavit, while also clarifying that reports in question were unintentional.
The journalists were booked for using unparliamentary words as used by an MLA during the legislative assembly session, about a resolution allegedly passed by the advocates’ associations across the state to not defend any journalists. They were reporting remarks he had made about the unfortunate 2012 incident between journalists, lawyers and police officers in City Civil Court complex in Bengaluru.
The court said the news reports carried in print and electronic media must strictly adhere to the guidelines issued by the Press Council of India.
Using unparliamentary words is per se intolerable and beyond the scope of the guidelines. It is often said that the print and electronic media/journalists form the fourth pillar of democracy. If they claim so, they should work and act in that regard with utmost care and caution, said the court.