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AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF MEDIA TRIAL AND ITS IMPACT ON JUDICIARY AND SOCIETY IN INDIA
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AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF MEDIA TRIAL AND
ITS IMPACT ON JUDICIARY AND SOCIETY IN INDIA
AUTHORED BY - AKANKSHA AWASTHI
INTRODUCTION
As a result, every citizen has the freedom to write, talk, and publish.
However, they also have responsibility
for any misuse of this freedom that is specified by law. There are several ways to grant ‘Freedom of Speech and
Expression,’ but as was previously said, there are some ‘reasonable restrictions’ that can be placed on this freedom.
similar to how "freedom of speech and expression" must be preserved in
a democracy. In order to preserve the social order, it is also crucial to impose certain limitations on such
freedom.
It is better for the media to stay away from conducting trials
that could interfere with a fair trial and instead confine
their coverage to neutral information dissemination to the public. The most detrimental component of the procedure occurs
when the media extensively covers
the subjects being considered and publishes
information and viewpoints that clearly prejudice the parties involved in a legal dispute. The judiciary
as an institution is capable of conducting fair trials, hence media trials ought to be avoided to prevent interference with
the judiciary's operations. There is cause for alarm regarding this ‘media trial’
situation, and it must be handled. The press shouldn't be allowed to operate in a way
that harms people or society as a whole. Since the media should behave
responsibly, its freedom—like other freedoms—cannot be unrestricted.
CONCEPT OF MEDIA TRIAL
The term "trial by media" was introduced very recently, and its applicability to a specific aspect of media activism remains debatable. These are frequently
characterized as local or national news articles
that employ the CJS (Criminal
Justice System) to create an exciting and dramatic effect. Both a free press as well as an
independent judiciary are important for constitutional democracy.
The
reach and scope of the media have greatly increased as a result of the rising
popularity of local radio, cable
television, and newspapers. Due to our news media organizers' consistently increasing readership and viewership, they currently have an unparalleled influence on popular opinions as well as preferences. The term ‘trial
by media’ is misleading in and of itself. Nothing
in the Criminal Procedure Code or the Civil Procedure Code defines ‘trial.’
A trial is essentially a process that the courts
have to adhere
to. The media trial is an excessive interference with the way
justice is being administered. Prior to investigating the matter, of whether a
media trial is appropriate, it
might be prudent to try and define the term ‘trial by media’. The term ‘trial’ refers to
any aspect of the judicial system. A fundamental component of “any judicial system is the accused's right to a fair trial.
On July 26, 2015, Honorable Justice Kurian Joseph of the SC” of India spoke about media trials in
ongoing cases at the Bar Council of India Meet in Chennai. Citing the strain
this had on the court in the Nirbhaya
rape case, he proposed sparing
judges from the extreme strain
these trials inflict.
Please do not attempt cases in the media until they have been settled.
Avoid attempting a case in front of the media;
judges are human beings with personal struggles. He recounted an experience he had with a case judge who told him that if he had not imposed
that sentence, they would have hung him—a reference to the degree
of pressure that is created.
‘They would have
hung me if I hadn't
given that punishment; the media had already
rendered its judgment, so it's going
to be this only,’ the judge declared. He went on to say, "It wasn't
because the media said it; it was because he (the judge who
heard the Nirbhaya case) had reasons
to give the punishment."
In R.K. Anand versus
Delhi High Court1, The impact of media coverage
on the reputation of a person—which can occur even in the
absence of a court ruling—was understood by the Honorable Supreme Court as the trial by media. In high-profile
cases, it is unlikely that there will
be a fair trial because the media is usually accused of inciting mass rage that
resembles a lynch mob. This
guarantees that the accused will always be seen as guilty and will live his entire life under public scrutiny, even if the trial's
verdict is not upheld.
When
prominent celebrities are involved, the media's influence can significantly
alter how these celebrities' ‘fans’ see them. One such case is Rhea Chakraborty versus the State of Bihar,
2020 (the death case of Sushant Singh Rajput), in which the accused
brought up the topic of media trials and
the media played a significant role.
ROLE OF MEDIA IN DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY
The
fundamental principle of ‘freedom of the press’ is the people's right to
information, as the Indian
SC made clear. According to the Supreme
Court, the press's
main duty is to give accurate
1 SC row: Four dissenting judges attend court, Bar Council
says ‘issue resolved’, India TV (15/01/2024), available at: https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-sc-row-issue-settled-says-ag-kk-venugopal-all-four-judges-
attend-court-422248
and
thorough coverage of every facet of the nation's political, social, economic,
and cultural life. It can serve as a
tool for mobilization and education. It has a major influence on how the public
perceives it.
By
granting the public access to all information sources, the "freedom of the
press" advances the "right to know." It keeps the public informed
about all the concerns so that they are prepared
to make rational decisions about issues pertaining to society as a whole
when the time comes. The two most
important components of investigative journalism are: (1) For the reader to understand the subject, it must be widely relevant;
and (2) an attempt is being made to keep the truth from the public. In a democracy,
the media's job is to encourage openness. The people can voice their opinions on matters of public
concern due to the media.
MEDIA TRIALS VS JUDICIARY
In
India, media trials are becoming more significant. In certain cases, the media
has acted independently and decided against
defendants in defiance
of their right to a fair trial
by a judge. A few very well-known cases that shocked
the public and had an effect on the judiciary include the 2010 Jessica Lal case, in which “the trial court cleared the accused of all charges, and the media
celebrated their efforts
to deliver justice
to Jessica Lal. In the Priyadarshini Mattoo case from 2006, a law student was sexually
assaulted and killed. It was considered that the media trial had an impact on the case's verdict. The media was given
praise in the Bijal Joshi rape case and the Nitish Katara murder” case, where the culprits would not have been prosecuted if
the media had not stepped
in. However, the media also identified innocent
parties in the Maria Susairaj and Malegaon bomb cases, disregarding the significance of accuracy.
The
Delhi HC noted in a suo motu case that the Indian legal system operates very
slowly and that, in the interim,
there is no effective remedy available to someone who is ‘innocent’ and is put through a media trial.
Consequently, it is uncommon to find someone
requesting settlement from a “court of law in the form of a ‘damages’ or ‘injunction’ in a case of ‘trial by media.’ In
addition, the Court acknowledged that all courts have a primary responsibility
to protect people's rights as well as
reputations against an unwarranted ‘trial by media’ by being more attentive and aggressive. The courts have to, in a” way, revitalize the ‘rule of law.’ Protecting citizens from media abuse is crucial,
even though it puts more work on the CJS. In the unlikely event that someone is detained on
suspicion of committing a crime, the media should refrain from calling them guilty or innocent since
that is not their place. The judiciary is responsible for this function.
Consequently, the ‘trial
by media’ damages the accused
as well as the court's decision because, up until his guilt is
established, the accused should always be believed to be innocent.
Not even the judiciary is without problems. Because they are human, judges
and other judicial
officials cannot be considered to be faultless. Media trials and exposure can also ‘subconsciously influence’ them.
Regulations pertaining to media coverage during the course of or
pending a trial must therefore be passed.
MEDIA TRIALS VS FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION
During the debates
in the Constituent Assembly, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar stated:
“Press has no special rights which are not to be given or which are not
to be exercised by the citizens in his individual capacity. The editor
of a press or the manager is merely exercising the right of the expression, and therefore, no special mention
is necessary of the freedom
of the press.”2
There
is no mention of media
freedom
“in Part III of the
Indian Constitution. The
Indian
Constitution makes no such express guarantees on media freedom. Article 19 (1)
(a) of the Indian Constitution,
which
guarantees ‘freedom of speech and expression,’ implies” this freedom. Even in the absence of any
explicit reference to this principle, Indian courts have never had any trouble upholding
media freedom.
MEDIA TRIAL VS. FAIR TRIA
The UDHR's Article 10 reads as follows. "Everyone has an equal right
to a fair and public hearing before
an independent and impartial tribunal to determine their rights and obligations regarding any criminal charges
that may be brought against them." “Article 11 of the UDHR states that every person
accused of a crime has the right to be assumed innocent until proven guilty as defined by law in a public trial
where he has had all the safeguards required for his defense. The ‘right to a fair trial’ is likewise safeguarded by Articles
14 and 16 of the ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,’ which is mandatory for
all” member nations.
MEDIA “TRIAL
VS. RIGHT
TO
BE REPRESENTED
Through the media trial, pressure has begun to build on lawyers to refuse
to take on accused clients,
attempting to force these individuals to go to trial without a defense. Does
this not go against” natural justice principles? No one has the authority to prevent someone from appearing
before the adjudicating court with a lawyer of their choosing and presenting
their case. For example, prominent
lawyer Ram Jethmalani faced criticism from the public when he chose to represent Manu Sharma, a primary accused
in a murder case. CNN-IBN's senior editor referred
2 Dr. Ambedkar’s Speech in Constituent Assembly Debates, VII, 980.
to
Sharma's legal representation as an effort to ‘defend the indefensible.’ This
was but one instance of the campaign
against the accused that the media instigated. As is widely known, the state's attorney, in that case, was
none other than Gopal Subramaniam, one of the greatest in the nation,
whereas Manu's case was handled by a less-than-exceptional attorney.
MEDIAL TRIAL V SUBCONSCIOUS EFFECT OF THE JUDGE
Prejudicing the judges overseeing a specific case is another concerning
aspect and one of the main accusations during the "media trial." There are claims that the judges
are impacted by the ‘media trials,’ which is a severe cause
for concern. Regarding this topic, the Anglo-Saxon and American perspectives are different. The prevailing opinion
holds that media publications do not have the power to influence
judges or jurors.
On the other hand, there is a chance that judges may be subtly impacted by media content
without realizing it, leading some people to believe that judges are influenced
by it.
Any
publication that aims to corrupt the judge's thoughts ought to be considered
contempt of court. Even though the legal system depends
on unbiased and capable judges, “media
trials should be handled carefully since they
could have an unconscious effect on the judges. It is impossible to deny the media's ability to shape behavior and the
way prejudices and attitudes are
formed. According to In Re: P. C. Sen18, the real risk of
biased remarks made in newspapers or by any other mass media” is the impression that the court or even witnesses for
a litigant might get from such
remarks.
Because
judges are human, the judicial system is vulnerable to human error and the
rational process of judgment can be
distorted by the excessive effect of irresponsible language. The practice of "trial by media" was
condemned by the Court in Rao Harnarain versus Gumani Ram19. The Court noted that journalists cannot
act as investigators when a case is pending and then attempt
to influence the Court. The Indian judiciary
has implicitly rejected
media influence over judges.
The SC stated that the complaint on the trial by the press would have a different
foundation. Judges are not influenced by negative press or propaganda. The judiciary has expressed concern about the
potential effect of the media on the ongoing trial before a court, but it has not explicitly
acknowledged that the media trial had any influence over the judges.
MEDIA TRIAL VS ITS EFFECT ON THE RIGHT TO
PRIVACY
The legal concept
of privacy acknowledges a person's inherent
right to privacy
and the right to be left alone. It's normal to view
privacy as both a right and a necessity these days. It's the outcome of a culture that's shifting from
emphasizing society to the individual and becoming more individualistic.
The
UDHR's Article 12 goes as follows. "No one shall be accused of arbitrary
attacks on his honor or reputation, or of meddling
with his family,
home, or privacy." A legal defense
against these kinds of
assaults or intrusions is something that everyone is entitled to. The SC of
India has recognized the "right to privacy" to be a "fundamental right."
Although it is not a distinct fundamental right in India, the “right to privacy has been recognized by the constitution. Article 19(2)
lists a number of acceptable constraints on the right to freedom of speech and expression, but ‘privacy’ is not one of
them. This discrepancy hasn't stopped the court from interpreting the rights to life under Article 21 and freedom
of movement under Article 19(1)(d) in” a novel way, thereby
defining
a constitutional right to privacy.
OBJECTIVE
Objectives will be specified
to facilitate the dissertation's
overall purpose:
1. To examine
the media's function in a democracy.
2. To crucially scrutinize the concept
of media trial,
its evolution, development and consider its influence
on the people as well as the legal system.
3. To assess
the restrictions enforced
upon the rights of the media
4. To recognize
whether or not the media is responsible for its actions;
and up to what extent
5. To find a fair equilibrium between the two fundamental rights,
the right to a fair
trial of anindividual v. the freedom of the press.
6. To propose
some steps to curtail the tyrannical and prejudicial
reporting of cases by media.
HYPOTHESIS OF THE RESEARCH
1.
Media is surpassing the limits of its rights and
overblowing the relevance of the news for
the sake of attracting viewers to watch their particular news channel to
increase TRP.
2. Media is interfering in the work of the judiciary just to
gain popularity and publicity.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is contemporary in nature, as it depends on the facts of study incidents. Research in
this area of law involves the analysis of statutes, international laws,
conventions, and domestic laws. The sources of research
include both primary & secondary. ‘The statutes are the primary sources while the secondary sources are mostly the
case laws, books, and articles in print by renowned authors and
electronic data made available on the internal by various websites, periodicals, and newspapers.’
The methodology for the present research work canbe lined up as The study is doctrinal and is based on a variety
of primary and secondary sources which
include relevant provisions of the legislative enactments of India. The study
is flexible enough to draw lessons
from the functioning of the international treaties and conventions.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Durga Das Basu, ‘Law of Press’ LexisNexis India, this book provides an
in-depth analysis of the fundamental
concepts underlying Press freedom from constitutional, philosophical, and legal perspectives. In light of parallel
provisions in Indian, English, and American law, the book discusses not just broad issues like the magnitude of press
freedom and the protection of that
freedom in India’s Constitution, but also the constraints on that freedom. In
this book, important concerns in the developing law on privacy,
such as “trial by media,” “paid news,”
“contempt
of court, government secrecy, and protection of journalistic sources,” have
already been addressed.
Jain,
M.P., ‘Indian Constitutional Law,’ LexisNexis India, the author expands on
thefreedom to “free speech and expression in the Indian Constitution
in this book. In addition to discussing the
freedom of speech and expression, he also addressed the freedom of the press.
After that, the” author proceeded to narrate the factors that comprise press liberty limits. In addition, he responded to the question of
interference with the presiding over the judicial process. These features
of a free press are essential for the researcher to be able to handle the topic of the study in the most optimal manner.
D. S. “Chopra and Ram Jethmalani ‘Cases and Materials on Media Law’, Thomas Reuters,
New Delhi, the book’s writer have made an effort to
present” legal precedent and statutes pertaining to the media. They have looked into a
variety of cases affecting the freedom of the press and the appropriate limitations that might be placed on that right.
The authors also described the rules
pertaining to defamation and court contempt, which are the grounds for
restricting press freedom. The book
features an entire chapter devoted to the topic of ‘media trial,’ in which numerous cases and the effect of media
trials on those cases are addressed
in depth.
Juhi “P. Pathak ‘Introduction to Media Laws and Ethics’ Shipra Publications;
New Delhi: The
author dug into the times gone by of press legislations in India and compared them to those in the US and the UK. The author
went on to explore the significance
of press freedom as well as
the expansion of it. On the other hand, she criticized the media for allegedly
eroding constitutional rights like the right to be free from slander, the right to a fair trial, and the” right to privacy. The author provided her opinions on
constitutional provisions, press freedom, and
the law. Because of this, it is now much simpler for the researcher to
appreciate the various takings and drawbacks related
to press freedom,
which will be of great
assistance in the process of formulating
an adequate conclusion for the study.
M. “Neelamalar, ‘Media Law and Ethics’, Prentice Hall India Learning Private Limited; The author begins with the history of law relating to the media in India, and” it goes over the precise constitutional rules that a journalist absolutely
needs to be aware of in order to dotheir job
properly. Then she went on to provide an explanation of the meanings of
the terms ‘rights of intellectual
property,’ ‘libel’ and ‘freedom of the press.’ Further, the author also talks
about the provisions of the IPC and
the CrPC relevant to the media. Lastly, the author sheds some light on the laws that govern the media as
they pertain to women and children. Also, the book has a number of important cases, which gave the investigator a
chance to see how different laws and rules worked
in real life.
REFERENCES:
1. SC row: Four dissenting judges attend court, Bar Council says „issue
resolved?, India TV (15/01/2024), available
at: https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india-sc-row-issue-settled- says-ag-kk-venugopal-allfour-judges-attend-court-422248
2. AIR (2009) 9 SCC 106
3. In Re: Harijai Singh and
Anr.; In Re: Vijay Kumar,
(1996) 6 SCC 466
4. Zehra Khan, “Trial-By-Media: Derailing Judicial Process in India”,
1 MLR (2010), p. 94.
5. Manu Sharma
v State (NCT of Delhi,
AIR 2010 6 SCC 1.
6. Santosh Kumar v
State, AIR 2010(9) SCC 747.
7. 7. 2009(1) KLD 133.
8. Dr. Ambedkar?s Speech in Constituent Assembly Debates, VII, 980.
9.
Onora O Neill, “A right to offend”,
available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/feb/13/mondaymediasection7
(Visited on mARCH 12, 2024).
10. AIR 1986 SC 515.
11. AIR 1994 2 SCC 434.
12. AIR 1994 6 SCC 632.
13. Press Law
Guide, “Fair Trial”, available at: http://www.thehoot.org/press-laws-guide/fair- trial-6286 (Visited
on mARCH 12, 2024).
14. Nimisha
Jha, NLIU, Bhopal, Constitutionality of media trails in India: a detailed
analysis, lawctopus, available at: https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/media-trials-india/
( visited on March 12, 2024).
15. AIR 2002(2 SCC (Jour) 75.
16. Manu Sharma
v. State (NCT of Delhi), AIR 2010(9) SCC 747.
Article Information
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY OF MEDIA TRIAL AND ITS IMPACT ON JUDICIARY AND SOCIETY IN INDIA
Authors: AKANKSHA AWASTHI
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/04/27
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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