MEDIA TRYING TO INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF PENDING CASES: AG

NEW DELHI : India’s top law officer used the occasion of a Supreme Court hearing into a contempt case against lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan to criticise the coverage of the court and matters before it by the media, even claiming that this was being done in an attempt to influence the judiciary.

Electronic and print media are attempting to influence the outcome of pending cases through their reportage and this is doing great damage to the judiciary, Attorney General KK Venugopal told the apex court on Tuesday, requesting the court to examine the issue in greater detail and devise a solution to the problem.

Venugopal, who was appearing in his personal capacity in the 2009 contempt of court case against lawyer Prashant Bhushan, said that the way in which happenings in the court are being reported by media has serious implications. “Today electronic and print media are freely commenting on pending cases in an attempt to influence judges and public perception. This is doing great damage to the institution,” he claimed.

He gave examples of how TV channels report on bail applications and how articles are written immediately before hearings in Supreme Court, specifically citing the Rafale case.

“Today, when I watch TV, I see them playing conversations stated to be made by accused. This can be very damaging to the bail plea of accused. Another example is Rafale in which immediately before the hearing, an article was published commenting on the case with details of documents. All this amounts to contempt of court,” he said.

The Rafale case refers to a plea before the court about alleged irregularities in the government to government deal between India and France to acquire Rafale fighter jets -- a deal in which neither the government’s auditor Comptroller and Auditor General of India nor the Supreme Court found anything wrong. Venugopal requested the court to examine and address the problem.