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CJI attacks media coverage of attacks

Legal Correspondent

“Public resentment may turn into an irrational desire for retribution”

New Delhi: The live coverage of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the subsequent events by the media, in particular television news channels, came in for critical observations from Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan here on Saturday.

Speaking at a conference on terrorism, rule of law and human rights, Justice Balakrishnan said, “the symbolic impact of terrorist attacks on the minds of ordinary citizens has also been considerably amplified by the role of pervasive media coverage. In India, the proliferation of 24-hour TV news channels and the digital medium has ensured that quite often some disturbing images and statements reach a very wide audience.”

Expressing concern at such coverage, the CJI said, “one of the ill-effects of unrestrained coverage is that of provoking anger amongst the masses. While it is fair for the media to prompt public criticism of inadequacies in the security and law-enforcement apparatus, there is also a possibility of such resentment turning into an irrational desire for retribution. Furthermore, the trauma resulting from the terrorist attacks may be used as a justification for undue curtailment of individual rights and liberties.”

He said, “instead of offering a considered response to the growth of terrorism, a country may resort to questionable methods such as permitting indefinite detention of terror suspects, the use of coercive interrogation techniques and the denial of the right to fair trial. Outside the criminal justice system, the fear generated by terrorist attacks may also be linked to increasing governmental surveillance over citizens and unfair restrictions on immigration.”

Justice Balakrishnan said that apprehension and interrogation of terror suspects must be done in a professional manner with adequate judicial scrutiny.

“This is required because in recent counter-terrorist operations there have been several reports of arbitrary arrests of individuals belonging to certain communities and the concoction of evidence.”

The CJI said that “in the absence of bilateral treaties for extradition or assistance in investigation, there is no clear legal basis for international cooperation in investigating terrorist attacks. The pursuit of terrorists alone could not be a justification for arbitrarily breaching another nation’s sovereignty. Yet another practical constraint that has been brought to the fore with the Mumbai attacks has been the question of holding governments responsible for the actions of non-state actors. While one can say that there is a moral duty on all governments to prevent and restrain the activities of militant groups on their soil, the same is easier said than done.”

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