The Madras High Court has expressed dismay over a reality chat show conducted by a television channel which is alleged to have triggered a storm in the lives of a childless couple, by making them face a criminal case on the false charge of purchasing a baby.
Justice M.S. Ramesh observed that the time had come for the Centre as well as the State government to ban television shows which make people discuss their personal lives in public, that too after tutoring the participants to become emotional and level baseless charges against others.
The observations were made while disposing of a petition filed by the couple, who have sought quashing of the First Information Report registered against them. The couple also wanted the adopted child, who had been separated from them pursuant to the registration of the case and lodged in a child care home, to be handed over to them.
During the course of inquiry, the judge found that the biological parents of the child had given away their third child in adoption since they were living in penury and unable to fend for themselves. After the adoption, a domestic quarrel arose between the biological parents. Hence, the child’s mother participated in a reality chat show in which she accused her husband of having developed intimacy with other women and having sold their child. Immediately thereafter, a criminal case was booked and the child was separated from the adoptive parents.
After the complainant narrated the entire facts in an affidavit filed before the High Court and blamed the producers of the chat show of having coerced the participant to make false accusations on camera, Justice Ramesh quashed the FIR and also directed the police to hand over the child to the adoptive parents.
Before parting with the case, the judge observed: “Media is a powerful tool which can influence people’s daily life and embed itself as a social norm. At the same time, it possess greater social responsibility.
“While exposing crimes incidents relating to commission of crimes for creating social awareness is laudable, will the media be justified in creating and staging an incident for popularising their programme? The present case is an unfortunate example of such an incident being created as per the whims and fancies of the persons behind the telecast of the TV show Solluvathellam Unmai .”
