Law Minister H R Bhardwaj on Saturday stoutly defended the role of media in highlighting the lapses of prosecution and thereby ensuring that 'rule of law' prevails in the country.
Asserting that the country had a vibrant democratic system with a highly independent judiciary, the minister rejected the charge that 'trial by media' in important cases tended to influence the judges while dealing with cases.
In an apparent reference to the recent Jessica Lal case, the minister maintained that the media, far from interfering with the judicial process, was in fact helping the society by exposing the lapses of prosecution.
"When you have an independent judiciary, you don't need to fear the press influence," he remarked.
However, Bhardwaj advised the media against using unethical means to sensationalise stories and cited an earlier instance as planning minister when he had to offer his resignation to the prime minister after a senior journalist reproduced in the media what was purely 'off the record.'
"The media is the friend of everybody. There have been instances where the media has produced clinching evidences to help the prosecution in several cases," he said.
Supreme Court judge Justice K G Balakrishnan, while complimenting the role of media in various spheres, however, said issues like publication of photographs of suspects tended to interfere with the test identification parade. He also felt that publication of details pertaining to the
alleged criminal activities of a suspect even before the commencement of a trial was not advisable in the interest of a fair trial.
Solicitor General E Vahanvati complained that due to 'trial by media' in some cases, a few judges were literally scared of acquitting the accused. He said the problem of misreporting mainly lay with inexperienced and young reporters desperate to make their presence felt in the competitive field of journalism.
President of the Supreme Court Bar Association M N Krishnamani sought a suitable amendment to the Press Council of India Act to empower the ombudsman to cancel registration of newspapers and channels, which indulge in scurrilous and misreporting.
The PCI should also be granted powers to initiate contempt proceedings against those publications and channels, which fail to comply with its directions, he said.
Chief Executive officer of
India TV, Rajat Sharma, admitted that unlike the print media, the electronic media has little mechanism to control misreporting and distortions due to lack of experienced personnel. However, he said modalities were being worked out to overcome the problem.
Editor-in-Chief of the
Indian Express, Shekkar Gupta, deplored the growing culture of hidden cameras being used by TV channels in the name of sting operations. He felt that such sting operations not only devalued the classical form of journalism but also made journalists vulnerable to attacks from miscreants and vested interests.