Free press: Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld freedom of the press by lifting the ban on Kerala-based news channel, MediaOne. It strongly decried the practice of filing sealed cover reports that the Centre often resorts to.
The bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli came down hard on the opaque practice. They observed it “infringes the principles of natural justice and open justice.” The bench also pointed out that critical views on government policies cannot be viewed from the prism of being ‘anti-establishment’.
Chilling effect on free speech
The bench observed that the use of such terminology represents an expectation that the press must support the establishment. It said the action of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in denying security clearance to a media channel “produces a chilling effect on free speech, and in particular on press freedom”.
In its 134-page verdict, the bench has made significant observations on the issue of freedom of the press.
“Criticism of governmental policy can by no stretch of imagination be brought within the fold of any of the grounds stipulated in Article 19(2),” observed the bench.
“The restriction on the freedom of the press compels citizens to think along the same tangent. A homogenised view on issues that range from socioeconomic polity to political ideologies would pose grave dangers to democracy,” the court further observed.
MediaOne denied security clearance
The case referred to a writ filed against the government which had refused to renew the license of MediaOne in January 2022, on basis of “denial of security clearance” by the Union Home Ministry. The MHA had raised national security concerns due to inputs given by intelligence agencies.
Resorting to its privileged practice, the government had also filed a sealed cover report before the Kerala High Court and had argued that due to the ‘grave and sensitive nature’ of the intelligence inputs, the reasons for the denial of security clearance could not be shared.
“When Immunity proceedings will take place in a closed setting, the court is required to pass a reasoned order for allowing or dismissing the claim in open court. We are cognizant of the objection that may be raised that an order justifying the reasons for allowing the claim would have to inevitably disclose information on the very material that it seeks to protect,” the court stressed.
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