NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it has become a “disturbing trend” that some “innocuous” remarks made by courts during hearings are being reported by the media merely to create sensation.
The court said such reports, which often have no bearing on the merits of a case, are presented to spark curiosity and attract public attention, disregarding that such remarks do not form part of judicial proceedings.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna made the observations while hearing a plea by businessman and AgustaWestland case accused Shravan Gupta, who claimed that certain false and defamatory news reports published in July targeted the reputation of his counsel, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa.
“This is not the mandate for the media, which must ensure accuracy and avoid unnecessary sensationalisation by taking innocuous remarks out of context and reporting them as the main event,” the court said.
It noted that an innocuous comment about repeated adjournments was wrongly attributed to Pahwa to create a sensational story. The court said reputed media houses should themselves decide whether such content should continue to remain online.
In the same order, the High Court dismissed Gupta’s plea to quash a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him in a money laundering case linked to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, and rejected his request to join the probe via video conferencing. Justice Krishna said Gupta’s repeated avoidance of investigation justified the NBW, noting that his fear of arrest was “misplaced” as the law provides remedies once he appears before the court.
Gupta, former executive vice-chairman of Emaar MGF Land Limited, is accused by the Enforcement Directorate of laundering over `28 crore in kickbacks through offshore entities. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in August 2023.
Criteria sought for deaf sportspersons’ award
The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to frame criteria for conferring the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2025 on hearing-impaired sportspersons, noting that the existing norms discriminate against them compared to para-athletes.
Justice Sachin Datta said the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 prohibits any such discrimination and directed that the application deadline be extended suitably. The court was hearing a plea by Virender Singh, multi-time Deaflympics gold medallist and Arjuna Awardee, who challenged the exclusion of deaf athletes from top sports schemes.
