New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to prepare in three months a comprehensive manual regarding the nature of disclosure in media briefings, and also directed all the Director General of Police (DGPs) to communicate to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) their suggestions on guidelines.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said that media trial affects the administration of justice and stressed on the sensitization of police officials while adding that at what stage details of the probe can be revealed needs to be decided.
The Chief Justice said the disclosure made by the police during media briefings should be objective in nature and not of subjective nature having a bearing on the guilt of the accused. The bench noted that the media trial is an important issue as it involves victims’ interest, and evidence collected in the matter, and also regarding an accused there is a presumption of innocence unless he is proved guilty, and the media report should not impinge upon the reputation of the accused.
The top court said that biased reporting also gives rise to public suspicion and in some cases, the victim may be a minor, therefore it is important that the privacy of the victim should not be affected. The fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21 of an accused and victims cannot be impacted.