In 3 months, prepare guidelines to check media trial: Top court to govt

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Union government to come out, within three months, with guidelines on how the police should brief media about ongoing investigations so as to prevent biased reporting, speculation, and media trials, while still ensuring transparency

- Abraham Thomas

Noting the surge in reporting of criminal cases in social media, and also in print and electronic media, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said, "There is no denying the fact that disclosure of official version of investigation will ensure against speculative crime reporting which may be a disservice to public interest and interest of accused, witnesses, prospective witnesses and victims." The Court was dealing with a batch of appeals, the earliest dating back to a 1999 one by NGO Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), highlighting the need for guidelines to regulate the procedure for investigation of police encounters and media briefings by police personnel. While the first issue was settled by the top court in a judgment issued in 2014, the second issue was pending with the Court seeking responses from states and the Union government based on a questionnaire prepared by the Court-appointed amicus curiae and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan.

Although the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued guidelines for media briefing by police way back in April 2010, Sankaranarayanan referred to the Arushi Talwar murder case where multiple statements given by the police led to speculative stories.