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Monday, Feb 07, 2005

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Supreme Court deprecates trial by media

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, FEB. 6. The Supreme Court has strongly deprecated the media for interfering with the administration of justice by publishing one-sided articles touching on merits of cases pending in the courts.

A Bench of Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Justice S.B. Sinha described the trial by the media in pending cases as a disturbing factor in the administration of justice. The Bench expressed its displeasure while granting anticipatory bail to an accused in a dowry death case. The judges took serious note of an article in a Kolkata magazine titled "Doomed by Dowry" based on the interview of the family of the deceased, when the application for the grant of anticipatory bail was disposed of by the Calcutta High Court.

Pointing out that the article was a one-sided version of the case, the Bench said that "the facts narrated therein are all materials that may be used in the forthcoming trial in this case and we have no hesitation that this type of article appearing in the media would certainly interfere with the administration of justice."

The Bench said: "We deprecate this practice and caution the Publisher, Editor and the journalist who are responsible for the said articles against indulging in such trial by media when the issue is subjudice. Others concerned in journalism would take note of this displeasure expressed by us for interfering with the administration of justice." M.P. Lohia, facing charges of causing the death of his wife, had moved the apex court against a Calcutta High Court order rejecting his anticipatory bail to him. While Mr. Lohia's special leave petition was pending before the court, a local magazine published the article giving a version of the tragedy and extensively quoting the father of the deceased on his version. But it was the case of the appellant that his wife was a schizophrenic psychotic patient with cyclic depression and was under medical treatment. But without going into the merits of the case, the apex court granted anticipatory bail to the accused on a bail bond of Rs. 1 lakh and a surety for like amount and asked him to cooperate with the investigation.

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