New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought response of the Centre on actor Rakul Preet Singh's plea to stop media reports from connecting her with the Rhea Chakraborty drug case.
Justice Navin Chawla issued notice to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prasar Bharti and the Press Council of India, seeking their stand on the actor's petition.
The court also asked the authorities to treat her plea as a representation and take a decision on it before the next date of hearing on October 15.
It also expressed hope that "media houses would show restraint in their reports and would abide by the cable TV regulations, program code and various guidelines, statutory and self regulatory, while making any reports with regard to the petitioner" (Rakul Preet).
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The actor, represented by advocate Aman Hingorani, has claimed in her plea that Rhea Chakraborty had already retracted the statement in which she was allegedly named and yet the media reports were connecting her to the case.
The next hearing on the matter will be on October 15.
"It is hoped that media houses and TV channels would show restraint and abide by the Program Code and other guidelines while making any report in connection with Rakul Preet Singh," the bench added in its observation.
Rakul Preet in her petition stated that despite the fact that Rhea had already retracted her statement on 9.9.2020 as aforesaid, the private TV channels have continued since 11.9.2020 till date to run a slander campaign against her.
The petition has sought the court's direction in order to ask the media not to telecast, publish or circulate on the TV channels, cable, print or social media, as the case may be, any content in the context of actor Rhea Chakraborty's narcotic drugs case that maligns or slanders the Petitioner or which contains anything defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths in respect of the Petitioner, or to use sensational headlines, photographs, video-footage or social media links which invade the privacy of the Petitioner.
With agency inputs
