New Delhi: Anchors who try to create division in the society through their programs should be aired, the Supreme Court observed on Friday while hearing a batch of petitions on hate speech.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagaratna said, “Media persons should learn and realize that they have no right to speak their mind.”
In the hearing that lasted for over an hour, the judges made critical remarks against TV channels which, they said, sensationalise every incident motivated by financial considerations.
In the process, the bench said, TV channels defame individuals and compromise their dignity.
The judges criticized the manner in which newsrooms have reported the recent incident of a man urinating on an Air India flight. “Look at the names the man was called on TV. He is under consideration. You have to treat a person with human dignity,” Justice Joseph said.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraja The bench was informed that the Center is considering a separate amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to deal with hate speech. He told the bench that views of stakeholders have been sought regarding the amendments and the same would be put through the legislative process.
On the question of the court whether the police has taken action against hate speech October, 2022 Order The lawyers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand directed him to take suo motu action in such cases, to which he replied in the affirmative.
The counsel for Uttarakhand told the court that after the previous order, the state had suo motu registered 23 cases. But the counsel said the state was facing difficulties in pursuing cases in situations where a police officer is both the complainant and the investigator.
Additional Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh Garima Prasad also expressed a similar position. He told the court that the state had registered 581 cases since October last year and about 160 of them were suo motu.
Looking at the numbers, Justice Joseph remarked that it was a quantum jump. Thereafter, the bench issued notices to all the states to be impleaded to seek compliance reports on the October, 2022 order.
As the bench expressed its concern over the menace of hate speech, it made specific observations against TV channels and their anchors. “The channels are competing against each other. They create sensation and create division in the society because of the visual element. The visual medium can affect you much more than a newspaper”, Justice Joseph said whether The Indian audience is mature enough to watch the content aired on news channels.
The top court asked the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBSA) about the action taken against TV anchors, who are “part of the problem”. “NBSA should not be biased. How many times have you lowered anchor? Said this.
NBSA’s counsel claimed that the association took measures on receipt of the complaint. And, none of its orders have been violated or challenged, which means that the complainants were satisfied with the action of the Association.
However, the counsel submitted that the body had no jurisdiction over the two news channels – Republic TV and Sudarshan TV and hence, was unable to issue any direction to them. Besides, the body was not empowered with adequate powers to discipline the channels, it said.
To this, the bench said that the NBSA should impose heavy fines on the channels violating the program code and orders should be issued to remove the anchors. “You hit them financially where it counts,” the bench further said.
The judges talked about the “unfairness” that is often seen in televised debates. “If the anchor is not impartial, the anchor will want to project one side, mute the other side, not question any one side. It is an undeniable symbol of favoritism,” the bench said.
(Edited by Tony Rae)
Read also: Justice Nagaratna dissents in Ministers’ speech case: ‘Hate speech negates right to dignity’