TRIAL BY MEDIA (Media Law & Ethics) by Indira Priya Dharsini M

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Indira Priya Dharsini M
20PJ016A

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Declaration
I, Indira Priya Dharsini M, the student of Jyoti Nivas College, Autonomous declare
that this is an individual project on the topic Trial by Media It is a record work of
independent research under the guidance of Sumit Dasgupta for the subject Media Laws
and Ethics.
The Project is in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the V Semester BA PJCE.
The information furnished here is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. This has not been
previously submitted from any award of any Diploma / Degree to any University or Institution.

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Overview of the term paper title:
To study Media Trial in India, its positive and negative aspects
Theme:
This paper mainly focuses on understanding what media trial is,how media trials affect judiciary
and in-depth analysis of media trials by covering different case studies .
Primary Findings:
In a few cases media trials have had a negative impact.
Media trial also committed an act of defamation
Recommendations:
1. It is recommended that everyone must have basic journalism knowledge to differentiate
between news stories and sensational news.
2. Sometimes media trials do have a positive effect.
3. Media trial has an impact to the society.

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INTRODUCTION
Media is the fourth pillar in democracy along with the legislature, executive and judiciary. Media
as a fourth pillar was coined by Thomas Caryle. The impact of television and newspapers
coverage on a case in an attempt to hold the accused guilty even before his trial and regardless of
any verdict in the law is referred to as trial by media. It usually overlooks the idea of ‘innocent
until proven guilty’ and is driven by the principle ‘guilty until proven innocent’.
Media trial first enactment started during the year 1799 by Lord Wellesley who wanted to
promote Press Regulations which had impact and restraints on the newspaper publishing.
In recent years, there have been several cases where the media has tried an accused person and
rendered a verdict before the court renders one. The Supreme Court reaffirmed that the judiciary
and the media are distinct organizations with distinct domains of influence and that their roles do
not cross. One cannot and should not utilize the other to carry out their respective functions. It
was noted that the media should solely do journalism and should not serve as a special judicial
agency. This paper emphasizes how the prejudicial nature of some media coverage makes it
illegal for freedom of speech and expression to amount to interference with the administration of
justice.
DIFFERENT ARTICLES UNDER TRIAL BY MEDIA
Contempt of Courts Act, 1917:
The inaccuracy of the coverage of the proceedings shall be disregarded only if it involves serious
interference with the administration of justice. Section 4 of the Act gives protection to the person
making the publication if it is fair and accurate.
As in trials by Media people reputation is lost and the court has made a section law saying that
doing so is injustice to the citizens.
Article 19 (2) of the Indian Constitution:
1. Right to integrity
2. Right to privacy

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
1. What are the rules and regulations with regard to Freedom of Press in India
2. To analyze the Trials by Media in India.
OVERVIEW:
Trial by media is a phrase popular in the late 20th century and early 21st century to
describe the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person's reputation by creating a
widespread perception of guilt or innocence before, or after, a verdict in a court of law.
In this term paper we are focusing on different recent and popular cases related to trials
by the media. We will be taking six case studies that cover few and important recent cases that
many are aware or unaware about .
Each case study talks about different issues where we have seen how the media deals
with it really well. Each case study has a deep understanding about the topic , how it is related to
media and about the case study too.
I have covered our primary findings , objectives and recommendations of the topic . I gave
a brief introduction about the topic so people are aware and know what our topic is about .

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CASE STUDIES:
CASE 1- Sanjay dutt case
Sanjay Dutt is a very famous actor in the media .
This case study talks about how Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to jail for 5 years by the Supreme
Court due to his involvement in the Mumbai Serial blast in 1993. Due to this in the airport he
was arrested in January ,1993.
There were assumptions that said that there were few other people with Sanjay Dutt. Sanjay
Dutt and a few other people had a few supplies of three AK-56 rifles in their hand for their
safety .
Sanjay Dutt kept one with him for safety purposes and save his family
In this case study Sanjay Dutt says that he kept a gun with him to save his family
from the threats of Mumbai blasts .
After he was in jail for 18 months he secured bail after that after many different procedures .
Later it was found out that he didn't do any mistake and he wasn't any terrorist as he had a gun
with him only for his and his family safety .
Then later he was again sentenced to jail for 6 years by the Arms Act . But later he got bail from
the Supreme Court . Then later the Supreme Court first made his imprisonment for 6 years but
the Court changed it to 5 years . Then on July 31st, 2007 he was sent to Pune Yerwada prison.
But he escaped from there too with the help of bail .
To conclude it talks abt how the case was highlighted in media about a famous actor who was
portrayed and accused as a terroist but he wasnt a terrorist . The Supreme Court later says that
they were sorry and he won't be accused for any charges . But due to this huge case the actor had
a very bad influence and bad image on himself in front of the public . As due to this case his
reputation has been lost . As for media coverage there were a lot of rumors and bad comments on
the actor by different media fields .

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CASE 2- Ayodhya Dispute
Ayodhya Dispute talks about the case related to the Muslim - Hindu religion quarrel regarding
the temple and mosque issue . It is one of the most important and discussed cases in India. This
is the birth place of Lord Rama in Ayodhya . And how the Muslims want to build a mosque on
the birth place of Rama in Ayodhya by demolishing the place. Or else they would want to build
a mosque just close to the temple wall. This case is between the Hindu and Muslim communities
regarding a piece of land for religious beliefs.
Due to this case there was a violent riot that happened between the Hindu and Muslim people .
Due to this a case was filed in the Allahabad High Court . This case is still going on and the
media is still taking up investigations .
On September 30, 2010, the Allahabad High Court ruled that their disputed 2.77-acre land in
Ayodhya should be divided into two parts among the Hindus, Muslims. Then later the
petitioners moved to the Supreme Court. The court started a fresh hearing of the case during the
year 2016. Then later in 2017, the SC said that the matter was sensitive and suggested for the
case to be settled out of court so that things are solved in a better way. However, no solution was
achieved by different trials by different opinions of the people. Then later in the year 2018, the
Supreme Court set up a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear the land dispute case between the
Hindu and Muslim.
Then later on November 9th 2019, a Supreme Court Bench led by theChief Justice Ranjan
Gogoi unanimously ruled that the disputed land be given to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas for the
construction of a temple as it was the birthplace of Rama . The Muslim side will have five acres
of land at a prominent site in or near Ayodhya to build a mosque. In February 2020, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced in the Lok Sabha that the government had given its approval
to the proposal for "Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra" trust to take care of the construction
of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and other related issues.

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CASE 3 - Sushant singh rajput case
Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead hanging from the ceiling fan at his home
in bandra, mumbai on 14 of June 2020
The cause of his death was marked to have been suicide. The postmortem report later officially
ceased by saying that the reason of the death was asphyxia due to hanging. Mumbai police began
the investigation of the case which was highly surrounded by speculations, gossip and rumors
The case also got global attention. The media also made assumptions of the actor suffering from
depression. Many channels paused the coverage of the pandemic and were constantly covering
the SSR case 24/7
The media rushed to engulf viewers in diversionary noise . It was said that a manipulating
girlfriend who looted money from her partner Sushant Singh Rajput, was on drugs and perhaps
assisted or at least intrigued to have him killed
Official agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate
have probed Chakraborty for hours.
News channels telecasted infuriating headlines like “Sushant par Rhea ka kala jadu” (Rhea’s
black magic on Sushant) and “Rhea ke jhoot par kya kehta hai India?” (What does India have to
say about Rhea’s lies?) about her. At the same time the late actor’s sister Shwetha Singh Kriti
commented on what she believed was Rhea’s use of coercion and “black magic” on Rajput.
On social media, she has been trolled relentlessly and was called a "fortune huntress", a "mafia
moll" , “vishkanya and dayanand "sex bait to trap rich men".
Television news channels revealed the chat between Rhea and her friends in 2017, about
marijuana that later dissected into various emoji. Navika said that “Weed is also called green and
It’s a pure coincidence that she is also wearing green that night. From sexist to root-based
slanders, Rhea was put through extensive social media hate campaigns nourished and ignited by
these media channels.
Media failed to keep up its decency while disseminating news.The coverage was equal to
contempt of court. Also, in addition to this obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive
implication and half-truths were reported and aired on the channel.

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Case 4- State Of Kerala vs Poothala Aboobacker on 24 August, 2006
The practice of the trial by the media in respect of a matter which is sub judice. The following
observations are most appropriate:
"Having gone through the records, we find one disturbing factor which we feel is necessary to
comment upon in the interest of justice. The death of Chandni took place on 28-10-2003 and the
complaint in this regard was registered and the investigation was in progress.
The application for grant of anticipatory bail was disposed of by the High Court of Calcutta on
13-2-2004 and a special leave petition was pending before this Court. Even then an article has
appeared in a magazine called "Saga" titled "Doomed by Dowry" written by one Kakoli Poddar
based on her interview of the family of the deceased, giving a version of the tragedy and
extensively quoting the father of the deceased as to his version of the case. The facts narrated
therein are all materials that may be used in the forthcoming trial in this case and we have no
hesitation that these type of articles appearing in the media would certainly interfere with the
administration of justice.this practice and caution the publisher, editor and the journalist who
were responsible for the said article against indulging in such trial by media when the issue is
sub judice.
The reprehensible tendency of police officials going to the Press with details of investigation of
cases,unfortunately find that the tendency continues with increased vigor. Officers in the higher
echelons of the police force appearing in the print and electronic media giving interviews and
narrating stories unraveled through investigation, are not infrequent sights these days. When
superior police officers indulge in freely passing on such information to the public it puts
unnecessary pressure on the subordinate officers who are de facto investigating the cases.
Truth is very often suppressed, exaggerated or distorted to add flavor and spice to the stories.
Trial by the media can do more harm than good to the society at large.
After the case under investigation is in the seizure of the court it is not open to the investigating
agency or other busy - bodies to give their own versions about a crime and influence the mind of
the public without realizing the worth or otherwise of what has been collected during
investigation and placed before the court concerned. Lapses in this regard will be viewed very
seriously and the erring police officers and media persons will be proceeded against
appropriately.

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CASE 5
Ms. Priya Mukharjee vs State Of Karnataka on 25 November, 2020
The Court, considering the similar situation, exercised powers under Section 438 of Crpc24. The
Apex Court also in the judgment in the case of Barun Chandra Thakur v. Central Bureau of
Investigation and Ors. decided on 11.12.2017 with regard to exercising any powers under
Section 438 of Cr.P.CAn observation was also made in a case of similar circumstances this Court
would like to refer to paragraph No.9 of the judgment.
This incident had received wide coverage in the media, both electronic and print. In fact, it can
be said that there was a trial by media, therefore, when the private respondents have directly
approached the High Court for grant of anticipatory/interim bail under Section 438 of the Code,
that too when the High Court has concurrent jurisdiction, we cannot find any fault with the
action of the private respondents."

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CASE 6
Shilpa Shetty husband Raj Kundra Porn Case
Raj Kundra is a British Indian business man ,who was ranked as the 198th richest British Asian
by success . He was born on 9th September 1975 ( age 47 yrs ) London United Kingdom
The job he did was he started a new business as RK collections , it's a grand new collection of
expensive clothes and materials for both genders.
As per a report in Mid-Day, out of the four arrested in the case, four have been accused of raping
an actress during the shoot of a web series. A 29-year-old casting director named Naresh
Ramavatar Pal, along with Salim Sayyed, 32, Abdul Sayed, 24, Aman Barnwal 22 were arrested
by the police, the report added. "The accused were given Rs 2,000 each to shoot this web series,"
the report mentioned.
As per the report, Pal was the casting director who had forcefully brought the actor to a
bungalow in Madh to shoot porn. The others had accompanied him. On Thursday, police
received a tip-off about the location of Pal in Versova, following which he was arrested.
Following his arrest, the others were also nabbed from Versova and Borivli.
Businessman Raj Kundra made headlines last year when he was arrested by the Mumbai Police
in July 2021 in a pornographic films case. Named as a key accused in the case,in jail Kundra
spent 3 months and was given a bail in September 2021.and was given a bail in September
2021.Since his arrest in the pornographic films case last year, Raj Kundra has maintained a low
profile. He made his first public appearance with wife and actress Shilpa Shetty when the two
were on their way to visit a temple in Himachal Pradesh.
Actor Shilpa Shetty on Monday issued a statement in the ongoing porn films case involving
husband Raj Kundra's arrest and requested people to respect their privacy, especially that of her
children.Kundra, 45, was arrested by the crime branch on July 19, in a case, which it said related
to alleged creation of pornographic films and publishing them through some apps.Shetty took to
Instagram and posted a note, writing that she has full faith in the Mumbai Police and the Indian
judiciary."As a family, we are taking recourse to all our available legal remedies. But, till then I
humbly request you - especially as a Mother - to respect our privacy for my children's sake and
request you to refrain from commenting on half-baked information without verifying the veracity
of the same," she wrote in a post.

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The actor wrote she is a "proud law-abiding Indian citizen" and a hardworking professional for
the last 29 years.
"People have put their faith in me and I've never let anyone down. So, most importantly, I
request you to respect my family's and my right to privacy in these times. We don't deserve a
media trial. Please let the law take its course. Satyamev Jayate," she added.Shetty, 46, said the
past few days have been "challenging on every front" and the family has battled a "lot of rumors
and accusations." "A lot of unwarranted aspersions on me cast by the media and (not so) well
wishers as well. A lot of trolling/questions posed not only to me but also to my family. My stand,
I have not commented yet.and will continue to refrain from doing so in this case as it is
subjudice, so please stop attributing false quotes on my behalf.
"Reiterating my philosophy of, as a celebrity 'Never complain, never explain.' All I will say is, as
it's an on-going investigation, I have full faith in the Mumbai Police and the Indian judiciary,"
she added.

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DISCUSSION:
The objective of the study was to understand how the trial by media act tried to understand the
reasons for how the rules and regulations with regard to Freedom of Press in India are related
and to analyze the Trials by Media in India. We also wanted to cover the main recent cases that
are related to the media and the media has taken control of these case studies. The paper also
tried to understand if there are any loopholes in the act which the defendant can use for their
favor. After doing this term paper we came to a final understanding that most cases we took are
secured , right and related to the present world and scenario and mainly related to the media.
Due to the impact of television and newspaper coverage on a person's reputation the public has
the rights to speak out and take action if they are reputed badly .
Recommendations:
1. It is recommended that everyone must have basic journalism knowledge to
differentiate between news stories and sensational news.
2. Sometimes media trials do have a positive effect.
3. Media trial has an impact to the society.

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REFERENCES:
A CRITICAL STUDY ONTRIAL BY MEDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT CASE
https://blog.ipleaders.in/famous-cases-media-trials-india/#Ayodhya_dispute
https://blog.ipleaders.in/famous-cases-media-trials-india/#Sanjay_Dutt_Case
https://indiankanoon.org/docfragment/207046/?formInput=trial%20by%20media%
20%20case%20study
https://indiankanoon.org/docfragment/1815206/?formInput=trial%20by%20media
%20%20case%20study
https://www.iasexpress.net/trial-by-media-everything-you-need-to-know/