Bench’s media class

SC’s move to frame guidelines for reporting is odd,given how it has defended the right to report

A Constitution bench of the Supreme Court,led by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia,is pondering “guidelines” on court reporting. It hopes to tell journalists how to report legal matters in a way that does not interfere with the administration of justice. Concerned about instances where court proceedings were misreported,or when the leak of confidential information hurt litigants,the court wants to make sure a free press doesn’t impede a fair trial. Certainly,there are instances of sloppy court journalism,of reporters simplifying or sensationalising — or not even understanding — legal proceedings. As a former SC judge and now Press Council Chairman Markandeya Katju keeps reminding us,this sloppiness or incompetence,unfortunately,isn’t restricted to only those reporters who cover the court. The response to this has to come from within the media — better gatekeeping,training,better editing. A set of guidelines from the SC isn’t the answer. For,these may either end up chilling the media creating a pressure of prior restraint. Or be brushed aside by the inexorable force of today’s 24×7 news cycle where everyone with a pen or a camera — or both — is a journalist. Ask Justice Katju — his “guidelines” have now become,at worst,an amusing irritant.

The SC’s guidelines for reporters’ accreditation — calling for a law degree and at least seven years of experience — are anyway too restrictive. It’s of little comfort that non-law graduates are allowed entry because that’s limited to three months and needs to be renewed by the court. Imagine what the court would say if the medical community insisted that health correspondents have medical degrees or if the CII bans non-MBA journalists.

The Constitution doesn’t have explicit protections for the press like the First Amendment in the US. It is the SC that has,through a series of landmark rulings — one involving this newspaper — interpreted Article 19(a) to uphold,cherish and protect the freedom of the press. It has linked it inextricably to the fundamental right of all citizens and made it the cornerstone of Indian democracy. That’s why the Constitution bench’s deliberations on “guidelines” for reporters will be very keenly watched.