The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Thursday, granted permission to Tamil television journalists to carry their mobile phones inside Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple while covering Chithirai festival.
A division bench of Justices C.T. Selvam and A.M. Basheer Ahamed, hearing their plea, directed the Tamil channels to give independent representations to the Commissioner of Police and Joint Commissioner cum Executive Officer of the temple.
The court permitted two journalists per TV channel to carry mobile phones into the temple. Mobile phones can be used for telecasting the festival alone and should not be used extensively, the court said.
The Tamil Nadu Television Reporters and Cameramen Association, comprising 26 Tamil television channels, had moved the Bench seeking permission to carry mobile phones into the temple for the purpose of covering the Chithirai festival.
The association said that they used their mobile phones to upload videos. Also it was necessary to carry the phones in order to contact the head office for obtaining signal clearance, only after which the programme could be telecast by the channels, they said.
At the time of ‘live’ coverage of an event, field reporter, cameramen, crew members and the reporter at the head office needed to stay connected at the same time, they said. They sought permission for mobile phones so that they could carry live coverage and live updates of the event.
Representing the petitioner association, advocate R.Gandhi said that in the previous years, the journalists used mobile phones for live coverage. It would be difficult for the coverage without mobile phones, he said. Additional Advocate General K. Chellapandian, representing the State said that the mobile phones should be allowed for telecast purpose alone.
Following the fire accident at the eastern wing of the temple, the High Court issued a ban on mobile phones into the temple in order to ensure safety measures on the temple premises.
