In an unprecedented move, the Press Council of India (PCI) took a unanimous view to serve I&B Secretary Sunil Arora with a bailable arrest warrant on Tuesday, setting the government on a collision course with the Council.
Explaining the reason for the move, PCI chairperson Chandramouli Kumar Prasad said Mr. Arora had questioned the powers of the Council to serve summons directing him to appear before its members.
To a specific question why the Council took such an extreme step, Mr. Prasad said it was the unanimous decision of the 18 members who were present on April 11. “We had several issues to be discussed and had issued notices to the Secretary on this matter as is the practise. He chose not to appear and questioned the jurisdiction of the Council to issue notices,” Mr. Prasad said.
According to Mr. Prasad, there were several matters concerning the powers of Council, the autonomy and the sitting fee to the executive members which required redressal. “To reduce the Council’s dependency on the government, we had proposed increasing the levy fee on newspapers,” Mr. Prasad said. The levy fee is paid by newspapers depending on their size/circulation to avail themselves of the services of the Council.
“It barely covers the costs here,” Mr. Prasad said.
The Council had also suggested increasing the sitting fee of the members from Rs. 300 per sitting to Rs. 4,000. The Ministry had agreed to make it Rs 1,000.
“When you receive a notice, you can appear in person, ask someone to represent you or ask a lawyer to represent you,” a member present at the meeting said. The senior official of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India had ended up slighting the Council, the member said.
As matters now stand, Mr. Arora, is required to present himself at the Council on April 22.
According to sources, the Secretary has communicated that he has the highest regard for the Council.
Also, sources in the Ministry said, “salaries and emoluments are not substantive issues requiring the presence of the I&B Secretary.”
