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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 'Times Now-like orders can cripple media'

'Times Now-like orders can cripple media'

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published Published on Nov 19, 2011   modified Modified on Nov 19, 2011

-The Times of India

 

The court orders directing Times Now to deposit Rs 100 crore as a precondition for appeal in a defamation case involving Justice P B Sawant appears to have become a rallying point for the media, both electronic and print.

On Friday, three top media organizations joined two journalist bodies, Editors' Guild of India and Foundation of Media Professionals, to stress that such orders pose a threat to the very existence of media and freedom of the press. They appealed to the higher judiciary to reconsider its orders.

The three media bodies - the apex news channel association, News Broadcasters Association (NBA), a major TV association, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), and Indian Newspaper Society (INS) - issued separate statements on Friday to point out that economic burden of such amounts would "completely jeopardize" media businesses and impact media freedom, which are "essential for a vibrant democratic set-up in any country".

The NBA said, "If innocent errors committed by media, are visited with such dire consequences, and if media companies are compelled to pay such disproportionately exorbitant damages, despite the issuance of a public apology, it would effectively cripple the functioning of the media."

It drew attention to the fact the courts' stiff orders have come for an "inadvertent error" despite the channel issuing "a public apology and true contrition for the mistake".

"Any curb of media independence whether direct or indirect, is a serious threat to the democratic process itself and must not be countenanced. If stipulations such as these become the norm, news media will be targeted at every instance, thereby affecting the very survival and existence of the news industry as a whole," the NBA statement said.

The NBA added that it noted with approval the views recently expressed by "eminent members of society, including jurists of high attainment" that the orders should be revisited.

The IBF seconded the concern of NBA to say that the court orders would cripple the functioning of the media. It said they were surprised and concerned over the "impact of the recent decision of Supreme Court that dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Times Now, which sought relief against a High Court decree that stipulated the channel to deposit Rs 20 crore in cash and furnish bank guarantee for Rs 80 crore to hear an appeal in a defamation case".

"The IBF agrees with the recent views that have appeared in media in this case, that such decisions should be reviewed and reconsidered," the statement added.

Indian Newspaper Society president Ashish Bagga has said in a statement that "while recognizing that the law of defamation is an important qualification of the fundamental right to freedom of expression, the law of defamation should be construed in such a manner that it does not constrain the normal functioning of the media, indeed the very existence of media." INS called on the judiciary to display "judicial sagacity" and review its decision.

Three top media organizations joined Editors' Guild of India and Foundation of Media Professionals to stress that such orders pose a threat to the very existence of media and freedom of the press.

The Times of India, 19 November, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Times-Now-like-orders-can-cripple-media/articleshow/10788296.cms


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