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Impact of Media Trials in Bringing Criminals to Justice (A Case Study of , New )

Ramendra Nath Verma1 , Prof. (Dr.) Eqbal Ahmad2

Ph.D Research Scholar1 and Professor2, School of Media Film & Entertainment (SMFE), Department of Mass Communication, Sharda University, Greater Noida

Received: 10 April 2020 Revised and Accepted: 26 June 2020

Abstract: Media is regarded as one of the four pillars of democracy. Media plays a vital role in moulding the public opinion in the society and it is capable of changing the whole viewpoint through which people perceive various events. The media can be commended for starting a trend where the media plays an active role in bringing the accused to hook. This phenomenon is popularly called as media trial. In recent times there have been numerous instances in which media has conducted the trial of an accused and has passed the verdict even before the court passes its judgment. Some famous criminal cases that would have gone unpunished but for the intervention of media, are Priyadarshini Mattoo case, Jessica Lal case, Nitish Katara murder case, Shina Bora Murder case, Arushri Murder Case, Nirbhaya rape case etc. A trial by media amounts to travesty of justice if it causes impediments in the accepted judicious and fair investigation and trial.1 The ethics of journalism have always been in a controversy due to their prying eyes on the accused. However, media freedom also entails a certain degree of responsibility. Keywords: Media, Trail, Criminals, Justice

I. INTRODUCTION Media is rightly called the fourth estate. In today’s time, media is certainly the most powerful instrument for transmission of information as well as opinion. Media trials, a concept that gained popularity in the twentieth century, pertains to the media’s tendency to run parallel investigations during the Court proceedings and thereby exerting its hegemony over the people. Media trials have to be adjudged in light of the fundamental freedom of speech and expression as well the right to privacy. Owing to the adverse impact of media trials on the rights of the accused and suspects as well as its inherent potential to prejudice judges themselves it is imperative that a suitable mechanism is created whereby uncensored press can be regulated within the domain of freedom of press. A person is presumed to be innocent unless he is held guilty by the competent court, but here the trend is to declare a person guilty right at the time of arrest. The media is there to report facts or news and raise public issues; it is not there to pass judgments.The right of the media to report important court processes and proceedings emanates from the right of the citizens to know, to educate and to be educated about the truth. However, along with this right also comes a great sense of duty, a duty that’s implied by the Constitution. It is a duty to report fairly, objectively and accurately. Any digression from this duty attracts restrictions and limitations that protect the rights of individuals. This balance of rights and duties is implicit in the Constitution itself. Throughout history the various forms of mediated communication have always reflected an apparent massive interest in crime, criminals, punishment, and justice. In other words, over time print, sound, visual, and new media alike have always depended on responsive audiences (or “ratings”).

1 Vs. State (NCT of Delhi) 2010(2)ACR1645(SC), AIR2010SC2352

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II. TIHAR JAIL Tihar Prision, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in and the largest complex of prisons in South Asia.[2] Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one of the two prison complexes in Delhi, along with a district prison at Rohini Prison Complex. It is located in Tihar village, approximately 3 km from Janakpuri, to the west of , India. The surrounding area is called Hari Nagar. The prison is styled as a correctional institution. Its main objective is to convert its inmates into ordinary members of society by providing them with useful skills, education, and respect for the law. It aims to improve the inmates' self-esteem and strengthen their desire to improve. To engage, rehabilitate, and reform its inmates, Tihar uses music therapy, which involves music training sessions and concerts. The prison has its own radio station, run by inmates. There is also a prison industry within the walls, manned wholly by inmates, which bears the brand Tihar. As of December 2012, Tihar jail has 10,533 inmates against the sanctioned capacity of 5,200. Though the figure is down from around 12,000 in 2006, the prison remains seriously overcrowded.

III. OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH The main objective of this study is to determine if there is any relationship between media trials and the criminal justice system.  To examine the impact of media trials of justice on Criminals residing in Tihar Jail  To study legal implications of trial media on Judicial system  To examine negative and positive impact of media trails on criminal justice system  To study the impact of media trails on the victims life and their family during hearing of cases and judicial review. HYPOTHESIS TO BE TESTED There is a significant influence of media trails on criminal justice system in India. RESEARCH QUESTIONS  Are the media trails really helping in speeding up the Judicial Process?  Are media trails affecting the judgments through sensationalizing the Cases?  What are the positive and negative impacts of media trials on Criminals residing in Tihar Jail?  Is there any relationship which exists between media trials and the criminal justice system in India?  What are the legal implications of trial media on Indian Judicial system?

IV. LITERATURE REVIEW [Pinky Anand, 2018] The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (the CrPC) is the procedural law providing the machinery for punishment of offenders under the substantive criminal law, be it the Indian Penal Code, 1860 or any other penal statute. The CrPC contains elaborate details about the procedure to be followed in every investigation, inquiry and trial, for every offence under the Indian Penal Code or under any other law. It divides the procedure to be followed for administration of criminal justice into three stages: namely investigation, inquiry and trial [Owens, 2010] A person is presumed to be innocent unless he is held guilty by the competent court, but here the trend is to declare a person guilty right at the time of arrest. [Stevens, 2010] In the criminal justice system, which we have been following, the guilt is to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and the law is governed by senses and not by emotions. While displaying our emotions, the media and the masses forget that it puts tremendous pressure on the judge presiding over the case. How can we expect a fair judgment from a judge who is under such tremendous pressure from all sections of the society? [Marsh and Melville, 2009]The representations of the former are typically portrayed as dangerous offenders who threaten the well being of otherwise lawful societies. The representations of the latter are less frequent and

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 17, 2020 less scrutinized. They are obtainable as anomalies, exceptions, or glitches in the normative order—that is, sometimes “shit happens”—in any case, these offenders and their offenses are not to be taken seriously or treated as real crime or with any thought given to the systemic negative consequences for the well being of the rest of society. [Jeremy Bentham 2008] “Where there is no publicity, there is no justice. Publicity is the very soul of justice. It is the keenest spur to exertion and the surest of all guards against improbity. It keeps the judge himself while trying under trial.”2

V. NOTABLE PRISONERS Sanjay Gandhi, former Member of Parliament and scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family Abhijit Banerjee, Nobel laureate, arrested for involvement in student protests while at JNU Kanhaiya Kumar LaluYadav Subrata Roy Chhota Rajan Sudhir Chaudhary Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh, hanged for the assassination of Indira Gandhi.Charles Sobhraj, an international serial killer, escaped from Tihar on 16 March 1986, but was recaptured shortly thereafter, returned to the prison and sentenced to an additional ten years for the escape. He was released on completion of his term on 17 February 1997. Ripun Bora, education minister of Assam's Tarun Gogoi- led Congressional government, the main suspect in the Daniel Topno murder case, was arrested by CBI officials on 3 June 2008 and sent to Tihar on 7 June 2008. The accused in the , including A. Raja, M. K. Kanimozhi, Vinod Goenka, Shahid Balwa, and Sanjay Chandra Suresh Kalmadi, former president of the Indian Olympic Association, who was arrested for alleged corruption regarding the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Kuljeet Singh and Jasbir Singh, executed in 1982 for the Geeta and Sanjay Chopra kidnapping case. Amar Singh, former member of the Samajwadi Party, arrested in a cash-for-votes scandal. Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, Indian social activists fighting against corruption, were imprisoned in Tihar for protesting conflicts between differing Civil Society and UPA Government anti-corruption bills, known as the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Lokpal Bill, respectively. Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, Khalistani militants, main accused in the assassination of Punjab Chief minister Beant Singh Abhishek Verma (billionaire arms dealer), one of main accused in Navy War Room Leak case & Scorpene Sub marines deal. All 6 of the accused in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. Maqbool Bhat a Kashmiri separatist leader who fought for independence of Kashmir as a separate state from India and Pakistan. Milkha Singh, for traveling in a train without ticket P. Chidambaram, two week judicial custody in relation to the INX media case. D.K. Shiva kumar, Money Laundering Case etc. The print and electronic media have gone into fierce and ruthless competition, as we call them 'aggressive journalism' that a multitude of cameras are flashed at the suspects or the accused and the police are not even allowed to take the suspects or accused from their transport vehicles into the courts or vice versa. The Press Council of India issues guidelines from time to time and in some cases, it does take action. But, even if 'apologies' are directed to be published; they are published in such a way that either they are not apologies or the apologies are published in the papers at places which are not very prominent. The most objectionable part, and unfortunate too, of the recently incarnated role of media is that the coverage of a sensational crime and its adducing of 'evidence' begins very early, mostly even before the person who will eventually preside over the trial even takes cognizance of the offence, and secondly that the media is not bound by the traditional rules of evidence which regulate what material can, and cannot be used to convict an accused. In fact, the Right to Justice of a victim can often be compromised in other ways as well, especially in Rape and Sexual Assault cases, in which often, the past sexual history of a prosecutrix may find its way into newspapers. Secondly, the media treats seasoned criminal and the ordinary one, sometimes even the innocents, alike without any reasonable discrimination. They are treated as a 'television item' keeping at stake the reputation and image. Even if they are acquitted by the court on the grounds of proof beyond reasonable doubt, they cannot resurrect their previous image. Such kind of exposure provided to them is likely to jeopardize all these cherished rights accompanying liberty.3 Trial by media is a phrase popular in the last few decades to describe the impact of television and print media coverage on a case by creating a wide spread perception of guilt on part of accuse regardless of any verdict in a

2 Scott v. Scott(1911) ALL ER 1 p. 30; Samarias Trading Co Pvt Ltd v S. Samuel (1984) 4 SCC 666 3JagannadhaRao, Fair Trial and Free Press: Law’s Response to Trial by Media, p. 26.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 17, 2020 court of law and hence the accuse is held guilty even prior to his trial. They blatantly violate the code to sell their story and boost their TRP, leaving far reaching injury to the reputation of the accused. The media involves itself so intensely and during such high publicity court cases the media sensationalizes the case and provokes atmosphere of public hysteria which not only makes a free and fair trial impossible but also maligns in the reputations of the accused to such degraded level that their rest of life comes under public- hatred and had scrutiny. Suspects and accused apart, even victim and witnesses suffer from excessive publicity and invasion of their privacy rights. On the other facet, the trial by media interferes with the administration of justice and tends to lower the authority of courts and finally hampering the functioning of democracy because an independent judiciary to dispense justice without fear or favour is necessary and it strength is the faith of the public in general in that institution. Further the media meddles with into the investigation thereby, misdirecting the investigation or hindering the functioning of investigating agencies.

VI. SOME FAMOUS MEDIA TRAIL CASES The media has effectively undertaken the cause of justice for the cases of Nirbhaya Case, Surender Kohli and Mohinder Pander Case, Jessica Lall, Priyadarshini Mattoo, Nitish Katera, BMW case, Arushi murder case, Sheena Bora and Indrani Mukerjee case, Salman Khan Hit & Run Case, Black Bug Shooting Case, and many more simultaneously. It has on one hand without considering about the inherent or intended effect interfered with the rights of people involved in the case and on the other hand tried to usurp the prerogative of the courts to try the cases. Sheena Bora and AarushiTalwar's cases are classic instances of media's presumption of guilt. The scandal has uses that stretch beyond the profits that news organizations may make. It makes us reflect, now that we have the lesson of the Aarushi case, on a principle as old as civilization itself: The presumption of innocence. In Arushi Talwar case, the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the Talwars beyond reasonable doubt and the media had failed to bring this to public notice. When the body of Hemraj was recovered, IG of Police (Meerut) Gurudarshan Singh “solved” the case even before investigations could begin. In a widely publicised press conference, he declared that Rajesh, who was as “characterless as his daughter” had committed the murders after discovering Aarushi and Hemraj in “an objectionable but not compromising position. Singh was transferred for his defamatory utterances but his sordid speculations captured the imagination of the media. There have been innumerable discussions about trial by media. Each time something like this happens Arushi, Sunanda Tharoor, others there is a little bit of contemplation and then business as usual. Norms or the ethics of reporting on crime have never been seriously addressed. The media’s obsession with sensation, with news that sells, with whatever feeds the bottom line, has ultimately won over any notion of proportion or balance. The Jessica Lal case shows how the media, warts and all, and public spirited citizens and alert judicial authorities can work in tandem to keep at least a few of our influential criminals out of harm’s way. Justice is higher than a lawyer’s interest in his client. This case study proves that media interference dramatically changed the course of the case. The intervention of media was very much desired as media helped the case to be highlighted as an example of gross injustice. In the Bofors pay-off case, the High Court of Delhi observed that, “The fairness of trial is of paramount importance as without such protection there would be trial by media which no civilized society can and should tolerate. The functions of the Court in the civilized society cannot be usurped by any other authority.” The Court agreed that media awareness creates awareness of the crime, but the right to fair trial is as valuable as the right to information and freedom of communication.

VII. PROBLEM OVERVIEW The overarching aim of the Criminal Justice System should be to find out the truth. The person, who is most likely to know the truth of an offence which has been committed, is the offender himself. It must be emphasized that the suspect/accused like the other players in the Criminal Justice System can also contribute to the search for truth. It is true that except where there has been a voluntary confession, the suspect/accused is unlikely to incriminate him; to which in a democracy, he is entitled to under the rights guaranteed to him by the Constitution. The rights of the accused include the obligation on the part of the State to follow the due processes of law, a quick and impartial trial, restraint from torture and forced testimony, access to legal aid etc.

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The present day approach of the Courts - in their attempt to find out whether or not there is evidence “beyond reasonable doubt” that the accused has committed a particular offence – is only to look at the evidence for or against the accused and balance the evidence rather than seek the truth. In attempting to get away from a situation of such balancing of evidence and the Judge acting as an umpire, the Committee feels that it would be useful to put in place the search for truth as the basis.”

VIII. RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL Right to a fair trial is absolute right of every individual within the territorial limits of India vide articles 14 and 20, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. Needless to say right to a fair trial is more important as it is an absolute right which flows from Article 21 of the constitution to be read with Article 14. Freedom of speech and expression incorporated under Article 19 (l)(a) has been put under 'reasonable restriction' subject to Article 19 (2) and Section 2 (c) of the Contempt of Court Act. One's life with dignity is always given a priority in comparison to one's right to freedom of speech and expression. Media should also ponder upon these facts. Fair trial is not purely private benefit for an accused - the publics' confidence in the integrity of the justice system is crucial.4 The right to a fair trial is at the heart of the Indian criminal justice system. It encompasses several other rights including the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, the right not to be compelled to be a witness against oneself, the right to a public trial, the right to legal representation, the right to speedy trial, the right to be present during trial and examine witnesses, etc. Fair trial means a trial in which bias or prejudice for or against the accused, the witnesses, or the cause which is being tried is eliminated." The “Right to Fair Trial”, i.e., a trial uninfluenced by extraneous pressures is recognized as a basic tenet of justice in India. Provisions aimed at safeguarding this right are contained under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 and under Articles 129 and 215 (Contempt Jurisdiction-Power of Supreme Court and High Court to punish for Contempt of itself respectively) of the Constitution of India. It encompasses several other rights including the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, the guilt is to be proved beyond reasonable doubt and the law is governed by senses and not by emotions. The right not to be compelled to be a witness against oneself, the right to a public trial, the right to legal representation, the right to speedy trial, the right to be present during trial and examine witnesses, etc5. Of particular concern to the media are restrictions which are imposed on the discussion or publication of matters relating to the merits of a case pending before a Court. A journalist may thus be liable for contempt of Court if he publishes anything which might prejudice a ‘fair trial’ or anything which impairs the impartiality of the Court to decide a cause on its merits, whether the proceedings before the Court be a criminal or civil proceeding. The media exceeds its right by publications that are recognized as prejudicial to a suspect or accused like concerning the character of accused, publication of confessions, publications which comment or reflect upon the merits of the case, photographs, police activities, imputation of innocence, creating an atmosphere of prejudice, criticism of witnesses, the Indian criminal justice system. The PCI norms lay down the guidelines for reporting cases and avoiding trial by media. The PCI warns journalists not to give excessive publicity to victims, witnesses, suspects and accused such that it amounts to an invasion of privacy. Similarly, the identification of witnesses may endanger the lives of witnesses and force them to turn hostile. The right of the suspect or the accused to privacy is recognized by the PCI to guard against trial by media6.

IX. LAW COMMISSION REPORT The most reckoning research on the positive and negative aspects of media trial has been elaborated in 200th report of the Law Commission entitled Trial by Media: Free Speech vs. Fair Trial Under Criminal Procedure (Amendments to the Contempt of Court Act, 1971) submitted on 31st August 2006 recommended various amendments to address the damaging effect of sensationalized news reports, and accused victimization by media, on the administration of justice and measures of postponement of proceedings and further said that such powers cannot be vested in the subordinate courts where the criminal proceedings are 'active'.

4Gisborne Herald Co. Ltd. V. Solicitor General, 1995 (3) NZLR 563 (CA) 5 Rajesh Kumar Malik, Media Trial in India - Pros and Cons, International Research Journal of Commerce and Law, Vol.03 Issue-03, (March, 2016) 6Shobha Ram Sharman, “Judicial Activism of Media”, (2010)

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This is because under the Contempt of Court 1971 Act, the subordinate courts have no power to take action for contempt. Under Section 15(2), they can only make a 'reference' to the High Court. Commission has recommended prohibiting publication of anything that is prejudicial towards the accused a restriction that shall operate from the time of arrest. It also reportedly recommends that the High Court be empowered to direct postponement of publication or telecast in criminal cases. The report noted that at present, under Section 3 (2) of the Contempt of Court Act, such publications would be contempt only if a charge sheet had been filed in a criminal case. The Commission has suggested that the starting point of a criminal case should be from the time of arrest of an accused and not from the time of filing of the charge sheet. In the perception of the Commission such an amendment would prevent the media from prejudging or prejudicing the case. Another controversial recommendation suggested was to empower the High Court to direct a print or an electronic media to postpone publication or telecast pertaining to a criminal case and to restrain the media from resorting to such publication or telecast. The 17th Law Commission has made recommendations to the Centre to enact a law to prevent the media from reporting anything prejudicial to the rights of the accused in criminal cases from the time of arrest, during investigation and trial. The Law Commission of India, in Chapter IX of its above mentioned report has stated various forms of conduct by the press which constitutes interference in the due course of administration of justice. These include, (1) Publications concerning the character of accused or previous conclusions; (2) Publication of Confessions :(3) Publications which comment or reflect upon the merits of the case; (4) Photographs related to the case which may interfere with the identification of the accused; (5) direct imputations of the accused‘s innocence; (6) Creating an atmosphere of prejudice; (7) Criticism of witnesses: (8) Premature publication of evidence: (9) Publication of interviews with witnesses. It is pertinent to mention that most of these ingredients have been culled out from Borrie and Lowe‘s commentary on Contempt law and are not reflected either in statue or judicial pronouncements in India. Even though the Law Commission states, There are also a large number of decisions of the Indian Courts falling under these very headings.

X. METHODOLOGY This proposed research work being a Doctrinal and Non-Empirical research in nature did require relevant field data. Primary data was obtained through structured questionnaire. It was circulated among lawyers and accused involved in various criminal cases. Interviews of Judges, Police officers, Jail Superintendents, etc was carried out to get the vivid picture on the impact of media trails in judiciary. The primary data was also collected through focus group discussion. A focus group discussion involves gathering people from similar backgrounds or experiences together to discuss a specific topic of interest. It is a form of qualitative research where questions are asked about their perceptions attitudes, beliefs, opinion or ideas. Secondary data includes the study and analysis of legal regime, the relevant laws, rules, notifications, byelaws, orders etc. For the collection of secondary data reading of relevant books, magazines, judicial reviews, law commission reports, analysis of case laws, judgments, legal journals and bulletin, web searching, etc where done. Trial is essentially a process to be carried out by the courts. It is essential for any judicial system that the accused should have a fair trial. Media has almost reincarnated itself as the public court. It has been the voice of the people who can never be heard, the light to the people who can never see the reality and the guide to the judge affecting the decisions. High-profile civil litigation is not just decided in the courts; it also is decided in the court of public opinion. The magnitude of the coverage and the filter through which the media reports on litigation can create a "clear bias in civil cases." Judges are also Human Beings they too care about the reputation, promotion and remunerations. Media is so much into our day to day life that even judges can't stay away from it and as a result there is also an additional pressure on the judges which include trials of high publicity.

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XI. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS Figure1

Figure2

The above analysis shows us the gravity of the situation as it persists in India and the fact that it is still at a nascent stage. The fact that there is regular clash between the media and law, goes to show that there is ambiguity about their individual roles and powers. Instead of choosing sides and blaming either one, it must be seen as a perfect time to pave the two respective bridges leading to their common road of definitive justice. Media needs to act as a watchdog and show the society whatever is happening around and also needs to act as the platform for the voice of the society. But now a day's even media has been doing things for their salaries and TRP's. Hence it should be well regulated by the court to maintain the basic code of conduct. Influence of Media on Accused If the media projects a suspect or an accused as if he has already been adjudged guilty well before the trial in courts, there can be serious prejudice to the accused. Even if ultimately the person is acquitted after the due process in the courts, such an acquittal may not help the accused to rebuilt his lost image in society. Excessive publicity in the media characterizing him as a person who indeed committed the crime, it amounts to undue interference with the administration of justice, calling for proceeding for contempt of court against the media. Influence of Media on Witness If the identity of witnesses is published, there is danger of the witnesses coming under pressure both from the accused or his associates as well as from the police. At the early stage, the witnesses want to retract and get out of the muddle. Witness protection is then a serious casualty. This leads to the question about the admissibility of hostile witness evidence and whether the law should be amended to prevent witnesses changing their statements.

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Influence of Media on Judges and Court Judges are not immune from criticism either in respect of their judicial conduct or their conduct in a purely private capacity. But it is for concern when criticisms of them are ill-informed or entirely without foundation, and may have a tendency to undermine public confidence in judicial institutions. A Judge is to guard himself against such pressures. A media publication can unconsciously‘ influence Judges or Juries and whether Judges, as human beings are not susceptible to such indirect influences.

XII. RECOMMENDATIONS Finally, the laces of the legal shoes of the country must be tightened to avoid trips and falls. To start with, the recommendations under the 200th report of law commission titled, Trial by Media: Free Speech vs. Fair Trial Under Criminal Procedure (Amendments to the Contempt of Court Act, 1971) must be adhered to. There must be proper regulation of media by the courts in order to avoid the regular clash. Also, instead of blindly adopting the legal provisions of other countries, we must assess our own country with respect to cultural and economic variables and accordingly arrive at a consensus between the extent of freedom of the press and contempt of court. The courts are obliged to respect the freedom of the press because of the essential societal interests this principle serves: the enhancement of democracy, the vigor of the marketplace of ideas, self-expression and the public scrutiny of the administration of justice. The right to a fair trial does not per se supersede the press‘right to free speech. The right to fair trial though read under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is more concerned with the conduct of the State in affording a fair trial to the accused rather than a private publisher or a journalist. The issue is yet to be decided by the courts - ultimately any such conflict is likely to come down to a determination of where the greater public interest is deemed to lie in the particular facts of the matter. The judicial system is not entitled to freedom from criticism nor to uniformly positive assessments, they are entitled to no more than a fair hearing. The media must also understand that although the courts support it out of respect for the societal interests it promotes, just as the courts must accept all manner of fair criticism, the media must accept and act on criticism, and also acknowledge that the nature of its institution is such that it has considerable potential to interfere with the proper administration of justice.

XIII. CONCLUSION Trial by media can be regarded as a necessary evil. Many big scams were uncovered by the media, and the law merely followed them up. The media houses must be given credit where it is due for extracting information that was so well guarded. One of the other advantages of having a strong and free press is that people are now aware of their rights owing to the fact that they are being exposed to a lot of information. But the fact remains that media has to be a regulated in some way or the other. They cannot remain unchecked and do a trial which gains more publicity. The Supreme Court has also stated that it is acceptable that the media should be independent and free, but they can’t come in the way of Justice and exercise their freedom in such a way that it is prejudicial to the proceedings itself. The problem does not lie in media’s exposing the wrongs in the society. The problem arises when they go beyond the rights conferred to them and do things which they shouldn’t. The credibility of news in media rests on unbiased, objective reporting. It is in the media’s interest to ensure that the administration of justice is not undermined. The problem of the absolute right to freedom of speech and expression is yet to find its way in India. On one hand we proudly pull out the right to freedom of speech card under Article 19(1) (a) but on the other hand we succumb to the restrictions under clause (2) of the same article. These restrictions are placed to keep activities which are ultra vires at bay. However, at times, these ultra vires activities may prove to be a blessing in disguise; such as in cases of fruitful media activism and investigation. To put it simply, if law is the lion, then media is its roar. At times just a loud roar is enough to awaken the forest.

XIV. REFERENCES [1]. Pinky Anand (2018), Trials of Truth: India’s Landmark Criminal Cases, Popular Books [2]. Malik Rajesh Kumar (2016), Media Trial in India - Pros and Cons, International Research Journal of Commerce and Law, Vol.03 Issue-03

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[3]. Kanchi Singh (2016), Constitutionality of Media Trials in India:A Detailed Analysis. https://www.lawctopus.com/academike/media-trials-india [4]. Himanshu Raman, Trial By Media (2016), A Legal Dilemma Resolved With Reference To Jessica Lal. http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l237-Trial-By-Media.html [5]. Kauser Husain and Srishti Singh (2015), Trial By Media: A Threat to the Administration of Justice, South -Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies Volume 3 Issue 4. [6]. P. M Bakshi, (2014), Constitution of India, Universal Law Publication, Delhi [7]. ed. Basu, T., (2012), Issues of Journalistic Ethics & Freedom in the Contemporary Age of Digital Media, pub: University of Calcutta press [8]. ed. Saxena, Ambrish (2012), Issues of Communication Development & Society, pub: Kanishka publishers, New Delhi [9]. Owens, Emily Greene, (2010), Media and the Criminal Justice System [10]. Reddy Raghunadha (2010) Trial by Media- A Critique From Human Rights Angle, Nyaya Deep, Vol. XI, Janauary 2010, p.31 [11]. Kumar Virendra,(2009), Free Press and Independent Judiciary : Their Juxtaposition in the Law of Contempt of Courts, Indian Law Journal, Vol. 47, No. 4, p.49 [12]. Abhitosh Pratap Singh and Madan Mohan, (2006), Media: Facilitating Justice or Hampering Justice?, Indian Bar Review, Vol.XXXIII, P.239. [13]. Rao Jagganadha, Fair Trial and Free Press, (2005): Law’s response to Trial by Media, Constitutionalism Human Rights and Rule of Law, Universal Law Publishing Co.p. 2005, 26. [14]. Agarwal, S.K. (2007): Media & Ethics, pub: Sage India. [15]. Basu .D.D., (2002): Laws of the Press, 4th ed., pub: Wadhwa, Nagpur. [16]. Narula, Uma (1994): Development Communication Theory & practice, pub: Har Anand, New Delhi.

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