NEWS CHANNELS VIOLATED RULES IN REPORTING ON SUSHANT CASE, SAYS BOMBAY HC

The press must exercise restraint when reporting on suicides, and electronic media should follow Press Council of India (PCI) guidelines until a separate framework for television news channels is created, the Bombay high court said on Monday, criticising media coverage of actor Sushant Singh Rajput case.

The court accepted the petitioners’ contention that certain news channels violated the programme code while reporting on Rajput, who died by suicide on June 14, and their acts were punishable under the Contempt of Court Act. It named Times Now and Republic TV, but refrained from taking action against the channels.

“Media trial leads to interference and obstruction to administration of justice and violates programme code under the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act,” the bench said.

NEW DELHI: One prominent leader who is part of the platform of farm unions leading the ongoing agitation against a set of agricultural laws appeared to spell out a separate agenda for the protests, including talking to some opposition political parties, even as other unions say they want to keep the protests apolitical. He, however, backtracked later on Monday and offered a written assurance not to meet any party in future.

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a platform of nearly 400 farm groups leading the stir, said that efforts by Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni to organise an “all-party meeting” on the farm laws were not authorised by it, and did not figure in its official agenda.

Just hours later, Chaduni, in a written statement to the SKM, said his meeting with the political leaders was a personal initiative to strengthen the agitation. The SKM accepted his clarification, a statement by the farm unions read.

The farm unions are on a strike since November to demand the scrapping of three contentious farm laws. The unions say the laws will hurt their livelihoods. A team of 41 representatives of the SKM has been participating in negotiations with the Union government. Chaduni also has been a part of the delegation.

“The Samyukt Kisan Morcha disassociates itself from the activities of Gurnam Singh Chaduni. His decision for an allparty meeting was never approved or authorised. It is his personal activity,” said Hannan Mollah, a key member of the Morcha’s “general body”, earlier in the day.

On January 17, Chaduni, an influential farm leader in Haryana and Punjab, met leaders of the opposition parties, including the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal in Delhi in an attempt to forge a larger political alliance against the laws.

According to Mollah, farm unions unanimously decided to keep their agitation “apolitical” and therefore Chaduni’s move was “not acceptable”.