'Distorted': PIL in HC on Arnab's reporting of Sushant case

A PIL has been moved in the Delhi high court alleging that journalist Arnab Goswami and his channel were reporting "distorted and misleading facts" on the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput resulting in infringement of the right to fair trial of actor Rhea Chakraborty.

The plea has sought directions to the Centre to frame rules, regulations or guidelines to govern reporting or broadcasting of all news related to criminal investigations.

The petition was listed for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan which asked the petitioner to come on the next date -- November 27 -- with his suggestions on the kind of rules that can be framed to regulate media reporting of criminal probes.

The plea has also sought initiation of contempt of court proceedings against Goswami and his channel for the alleged "prejudicial reporting" of the Rajput death case.

The petition has alleged that the journalist and the TV channel are on a "witch hunt" against Rajput's friend Chakraborty and are behaving as "judge, jury and executioner" to sway the public opinion against her.

"Interestingly, no investigating agency is probing any charge of murder in the present criminal investigation. Even the FIR registered by the Patna police on the complaint received by the father of the deceased (Rajput) is for abetment to suicide and other penal provisions. Moreover, as per the report of AIIMS, the cause of death is suicide and not murder," the petition has claimed.

It has also sought a direction restraining the journalist and the channel from "publishing or broadcasting any information or news related to any criminal investigation in the name of investigative journalism and/or information received from anonymous sources".