SC rules out gag order on media

Ruling that any gag on media from reporting court proceedings would be retrograde, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the internet has revolutionised the court reporting and open court hearing ensures that information relating to a court proceeding is available in public domain. An open court proceeding ensures “public scrutiny” and “transparency.”

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud heading a bench also comprising Justice M.R. Shah said that the High Court should exercise a “degree of caution and circumspection” in making oral observations in the course of the hearing more so when party in question is another constitutional authority.

The court made these observations in its judgment on a petition filed by the Election Commission complaining against the harsh oral observation made against it by the Madras High Court in the course of the hearing of a plea seeking enforcing of Covid protocol in the just concluded assembly polls and the countering.

The observations in question were made on April 26, 2021. The Election Commission was aggrieved with the oral observation attributing responsibility on the poll panel for surge in Covid cases and saying why it should not “be put up for murder charges”.

Assuaging the poll panel, the court said, “The remarks of the High Court were harsh. The metaphor is inappropriate. The High Court — if indeed it did make the oral observations which have been alluded to — did not seek to attribute culpability for the Covid-19 pandemic in the country to the EC.”

Declining to expunge the oral observations by the High Court and the media reporting of the court proceedings be restricted to judgments and orders, Justice Chandrachud said that the media reporting was not limited to just reporting the judgments and the court orders but also included its proceedings as well.