KOCHI: The High Court declined to pass any orders imposing restrictions on the media on reporting the rehabilitation and reconstruction measures being undertaken by the government in the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad.
The court said it expects that the media will exercise due care and caution while reporting news on the matter.
“We cannot ignore the settled law governing the right to freedom of speech and expression of the media, which clearly states that reasonable restrictions in addition to what is already mentioned in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India cannot be imposed on the media,” said the court.
This came after Dr Sekhar L Kuriakose, member secretary, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), appeared online, pointing to the erroneous news items that have appeared in the print, electronic, and social media.
It is pointed out that such publication of factually erroneous news will have an effect of demoralising the members of the Disaster Management Teams that are working tirelessly in connection with the rehabilitation efforts in Wayanad.
The government also sought a directive to the media to “remove the contents regarding the falsehood that was deliberately spread about the extracts of the memorandum”, containing the estimated expenses submitted by the government, seeking additional immediate assistance from NDRF.
Declining the plea, the court said, “Media has got a right to express their opinion. It is an expression of an opinion by any citizen and that is to be encouraged actually because it is what keeps us all in check. If we say nobody should express their opinion then we will go away from democracy to dictatorship, which is not conducive to a democratic republic.”