New Delhi: The Supreme court bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde today refused to pass any orders against the press over a PIL complaining about the alleged communalisation of Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Nizamuddin, Delhi.
The CJI said that they will not "gag the press" and hear the matter next week. CJI added that they want to make long term measures to curtail fake news and once they take the cognizance people will understand.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind had moved the Supreme Court requesting an urgent hearing of its PIL which seeks directions from the apex court to the Centre to prevent communalisation of the Nizamuddin Markaz issue by certain sections of the print and electronic media, while demanding action against such attempts.
The lawyer appearing for Jamiat ulema-i-Hind argued that people are being attacked because of the media reports.
Read: Jamiat moves SC; seeks action against media for ‘communalising’ Tablighi Jamaat event
"They are publishing names and addresses of the COVID-19 patients which is against the law," the petitioner argued. Citing the Karnataka incident, he contended that there have been incidents of violence and names of markaz attendes have been made public.
CJI Bobde also clarified that if the question is of killing, defamation then the remedy is somewhere else but if the question is of reporting then Press Council of India has to be made a party.
The organisation contending the ground for their PIL had said that if the print and electronic media is not immediately prevented from reporting the Nizamuddin Markaz incident with a communal angle then it will lead to a communal divide in the society which is already going through a "communally tense period" post the Delhi pogrom.
Along with its petition, the organisation attached photos of various media organisations carrying controversial and communal statements/headlines in their channels/papers.
With more than 100 positive cases of coronavirus have emerged from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, the deadly disease has taken a communal colour in the country.
