The Hindu : Press Council chief wants media to observe restraint

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 29, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Press Council chief wants media to observe restraint

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MARCH 28: The Press Council of India Chairman, K. Jayachandra Reddy, said the media "should keep within limits" when reporting on the "other three pillars of democracy -- the legislature, executive and judiciary." He said that the Press in India enjoyed great freedom and with this came greater responsibility.

Justice Reddy was speaking at a workshop on `Parliamentary Privileges - Freedom of Press" organised by the Press Academy of Andhra Pradesh here on Sunday.

He expressed disappointment that some sections of the media were "diverging from the noble path of truthful journalism" and cautioned journalists against being partisan.

He observed that all the "pillars of democracy" were accountable to higher authorities but the Press had no such constitutional accountability. So, there was greater need for self-regulation by the media, he added and called for a code of conduct for it.

He lamented that even though the Press Council had been set up to regulate the media, it was only able to warn and censure erring journalists or publications. This was not sufficient to stop those sections of the media that resorted to partisan reporting.

He said Parliament should be generous in its interpretation of the law of privilege and called for a codification of what exactly constituted `privilege of these elected bodies.'' Mr. Justice Reddy also advised the media to show greater tact when reporting on the legislature and the judiciary to avoid conflict. He said that the right of the legislature was not above judicial review and no institution could take away the individual's constitutional freedoms without a right of appeal.

He gave the example of a case in Britain where a newspaper had published a headline "Old Fools Have Done It Again" in reference to a judgment passed by the House of Lords. Despite these strong words Lord Templeton refused to institute contempt proceedings against the paper since he felt that "Old" was a fact since those involved in the judgment were over 70 years old and "Fool" was a matter of opinion, which every individual is entitled to have. Mr. Justice Reddy recalled Lord Templeton as having said that in a democracy no one could be prosecuted for his or her opinions. Similar positions should be adopted with regard to the Indian press too, he added.

I. Venkata Rao, Chairman, Press Academy of AP, presided over the workshop.

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