Supreme Court directs MHA to prepare manual on police media briefings about criminal cases

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said media trial affects the administration of justice and interest of the victims as well as the accused as it directed the Union Ministry of Home Affairs to prepare, in three months, a comprehensive manual regarding the nature of disclosure in press briefings in pending criminal investigations.

The court also directed all the director general of police (DGPs) to communicate to the Ministry of Home Affairs their suggestions on guidelines.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra said that media trial affects administration of justice. It is in the interest of the victims, accused and the public at large that the media trials do not happen, it said.

The court stressed on the need for sensitisation of police officials as to at what stage details of the probe can be revealed needs to be decided.

The bench said the disclosure made by the police during media briefings should be objective and not of subjective in nature having a bearing on the guilt of the accused.

The bench said, "The guidelines by Union government were prepared almost a decade ago on April 1, 2010. Since then, with the upsurge of reporting of crime not only in print media but also electronic media, it becomes important for there to be a balance."

It also said disclosure by the police should not result in media trial or allow pre-determination of the guilt of the accused.

Hearing PILs by NGO PUCL and others, the bench said that media trial is an important issue as it involves victims’ interest, and the evidence collected in the matter.

The court also pointed out there is a presumption of innocence in favour of accused unless he is proved guilty, and the media report should not impinge upon reputation of accused.

The top court said that biased reporting also gives rise to public suspicion and in some cases, the victim may be a minor, therefore it is important that the privacy of the victim should not be affected as the fundamental rights under Article 19 and 21 of accused and victims should not be impacted.

The court also said the issue involved an important aspect, which is the propriety and procedure to be followed by police personnel for media briefings.

The bench also said that media reporting on matters related to commission of crimes involved several aspects of public interest.

At the basic level the fundamental right to free speech and expression is directly involved, both in terms of the right of media to portray and disseminate views and news, it said.

The bench said the modalities have to be followed by police in conducting media briefings where a criminal investigation for an alleged offence is in progress.

A batch of petitions filed NGO, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and others sought guidelines for media coverage of criminal cases. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan acted as amicus curiae in the matter where the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also been impleaded to provide assistance.