Media Should Impose Restrictions On Themselves While Reporting On Suicides And Deaths: Bombay High Court

Friyana Munshi

Mumbai, January 18, 2021: The Bombay High Court has clarified that the guidelines issued by the Press Council of India (PCI) for deaths and suicides reporting will now also apply to electronic media. The petition was filed by Adv. Asim Sarode.

The High Court has also accepted the demands made in the petition, saying that depiction of the character of the suicidal person as something bad or weak must be stopped. The High Court has directed that a letter written before death or a confession in a case should be reported only when the police accept it as an ‘admissible document’ or if it is accepted by the court, otherwise it should not be shown by the media.

The High Court has noted in its judgment that Republic TV and Times Now showed a number of insulting things on their channels in the actor Sushant Singh Rajput case. The court ruled that defaming someone while reporting as if appearing to show the verdict, was an impediment to the criminal justice process. It was alleged in some of the petitions that the media starts investigating while the police investigation is underway. The court stated that a lot of the discussions and debates must be avoided while the police investigation is underway. Also, conducting media trials parallel to the court by the media while the court proceedings are underway is to obstruct the judicial process. Therefore, it is an insult to the court.

TV media can no longer say that there are no guidelines for us as PCI’s guidelines are now applicable to electronic media, the court clarified today. Most importantly, the Cable and Television Networks (Regulation) Act of 1995 shall also be implemented.