State Police Chief T.P. Senkumar has said he is not against trial by media in criminal cases, but has reservation over such an endeavour when it is done by people with no background of law or criminal proceedings.
“I am not against trial by media as media is an integral part of democracy. But the danger comes when in the form of ‘breaking news’ people with no background of law does the trial. If media trial is done by a committed and learned journalist, I do not have any problem with that,” Mr. Senkumar said while participating in a seminar on “Media trial in criminal cases,’ organised by the All India Lawyers Union here o Thursday. The trial by media often intruded into private life of a person. The advent of social media had brought in its own dangers as there was no editorial control, he said. “The best way forward is to bring in a self-code by journalists themselves,” he said.
Former judge of Kerala High Court R. Rajendra Babu said trial as per rule of law was conducted in a court. “If the trial of a case is conducted by media before it reaches a court, there is every chance that the judge might get prejudiced. So there is a need for caution,” he said.
P.C. George, MLA, said the media had every right to bring out the truth and there was nothing wrong in journalists going an extra mile to find the truth.
He says the trial often intrudes into private life
