Chennai: Stepping in to cleanse the media profession, infested with fake journalists whose tribe had witnessed an alarming rise, Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a Press Council as a regulatory body with adequate powers within three months.
Headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge, the council would identify and weed out fake media persons, who are a menace and a threat to civil society.
Expressing serious concern over the proliferation of people taking the 'Avatar' of PRESS only to 'threaten and blackmail for their unjust enrichment', the Court bemoaned that there is no control or supervision of the so-called journalists who are indulging in illegal and unethical practice.
At times, they act on behalf of the accused by filing cases in courts and the present directive comes out one such case before a Division Bench, comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and P Velmurugan.
The order, passed recently on the last working day of Justice Kirubakaran, who had retired, also warns of paid news afflicting the media. “It has to be realised that media is a multi-fanged genie that has got out of the bottle and has spread its vicious tentacles everywhere. It is difficult to put it back into the bottle, as everyone has tasted blood,” the Bench observed, underlining the need for stringent regulation.
In the court's view, the media accreditation committee of the state government requires a thorough overhaul since many of its members are either stated to be fake journalists or retired ones from news organisations. Even top journalists in the state have to get their accreditation cards cleared by this panel, it was pointed out.
According to the Judges, the biggest threat to media freedom is the multitude of journalists' associations that have sprung up in Chennai and the districts. “It is said that 10 to 20 part-time journalists come together, float a fancy letter-pad association and then start issuing identity cards with bold PRESS declarations on payment of anything from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000,” the judgment reads, adding that this facilitates the card holders to engage in illegal activities. For, it is a common sight to find SUVs with stickers of Press on the front and Human Rights on the back, it noted.
At a time when neither the administration nor the police were ready to take on fake journalists, the Court has stepped in to bell the cat. Citing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Bench said allowing unscrupulous elements to don the journalist cap would be dangerous since they get access to functions and events of the Chief Minister and other dignitaries.
The Council, with representations from IAS and IPS officers besides media personnel, should be sole authority to recognise journalist associations and unions and their elections as well as other functions like conferences. The state government is directed not to issue ID Cards to media outlets whose circulation is below 10,000 copies, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Media houses should submit the number of employees and salary steps to receive Stickers and ID Cards for staff as well as viewership details.
The state government was further directed to file a compliance report within a period of four weeks failing which, the Director of Information and Publicity Department should appear before the Court.
Though well intentioned, the judgment has invited criticism from certain journalist associations. The Centre for Media Persons for Change (CMPC), has termed as draconian the Council's oversight of elections and recognition of associations, which is violative of labour laws and Constitutions principles.
