Lawfare, Summons/Notices – Journalists
OBSERVING that the “press is the most powerful watchdog of society”, the Bombay High Court Wednesday quashed and set aside a trial court order restraining the media from reporting on proceedings in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter case.
Dictating the order, Justice Revati Mohite-Dere said “certainly public has a right to know what is happening in this case”. She said freedom of press is intrinsic to the right to freedom of expression. She was hearing a writ petition filed by nine journalists, including from The Indian Express, against the special CBI court’s order passed on November 29, 2017, restraining the media from reporting on the ongoing trial.
Justice Mohite-Dere held that in a democratic society, there must be right to fair trial. “The media is ensuring the public right to information. The media serves a larger public interest by ensuring dissemination of information which otherwise would not be easily accessible to the public… Press is the most powerful watchdog of society. In the facts of the case, interest of society is not to be treated with disdain. A fair trial is one which balances the public interest of society.”
