HC quashes order gagging media in Sohrabuddin fake encounter trial
Bombay high court on Wednesday quashed and set aside a trial court’s order prohibiting journalists from reporting on or publishing the proceedings of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case trial.
Justice Revati Mohite-Dere minced no words, asserting the special CBI court overreached its powers in issuing the order.
She agreed with the petitioners — a group of court reporters and city-based Union of Journalists — that the Criminal Procedure Code provided only for the high courts and the apex court to issue such ban orders. Such an order could be issued only in rare cases, and for a limited period of time, the court said.
“The rights of the press are intrinsic with the constitutional right that guarantees freedom of expression. In reporting from an open trial, the press not only makes use of its own right, but serves the larger purpose of making such information available to the general public,” the judge said. She added that mere apprehension of sensationalism, as levelled by the accused, was not a sufficient ground for issuing such gag orders.
On November 29 last year, the special CBI court had barred journalists from reporting or publishing the proceedings of the ongoing trial in the case.
The CBI court said while journalists can attend the proceedings, they must not make what transpired public.
Justice Mohite-Dere said the ban was unjustified and breached a journalist’s constitutional right of freedom of expression. She also dismissed the objections raised by the accused, saying they had failed to prove there existed any legal provision for a trial court to prohibit the press from reporting.
MUMBAI:The
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Deepika Paukone, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor
First things first, does Padmaavat cast aspersions on Rajput valour? No. Would it deserve to be banned if it did? Of course not. But the fact remains that the film represents the Rajput rulers of 13th century Mewar as heroes. If anything, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s lionising is a bit over the top.
That said, this is Bhansali at his most spectacular. The sets shine; the costumes wow, even if you don’t normally care about that kind of thing. And it reveals an Alauddin Khilji (played by Ranveer Singh) that is equal parts tyrannical, cynical, eccentric and insane.
Tasked with bringing back an ostrich hair, he drags in a living sample of the giant bird in chains. He cares little for convention and dances with mad abandon, traumatising his new wife Mehrunissa (Aditi Rao Hydari) with his antics.
He is also ruthlessly ambitious, and determined to capture Rajputana in order to become the most powerful ruler in the region.
All this — the grand sets, better-than-average CGI, well-paced screenplay — manage to hold your attention for the first quarter or so of this nearly-three-hour film. But then things slow to a crawl.
A priest waxes eloquent
THE JUDGE HELD THAT THE SPECIAL CBI COURT HAD OVERREACHED ITS POWERS IN ISSUING THE GAG ORDER ON MEDIA