The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to prepare fresh guidelines for the police to brief the media, keeping in mind the protection of rights of both the accused and the victims of crime.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar gave six weeks to the Centre to prepare the memorandum of the guidelines by examining the various suggestions submitted in the court.
‘Sensitive rights’
“We, thereby, direct the Centre to prepare a fresh memorandum of police guidelines on media by taking into consideration the rights of the accused so that their rights are not prejudiced during trial and also the sensitive rights of victims,” the Bench ordered.
The court was of the view that the last such office memorandum by the Centre was issued on April 1, 2010 and since then much deliberation had taken place. The subject had been examined from various angles, particularly keeping in mind the protection of rights of the accused as well as the protection of the rights of the sufferer.
The issue of police briefing to the media has been dealt with by the Supreme Court and it has passed several directions on a petition filed by the NGO People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). The court on September 23, 2014 had passed a slew of directions for framing guidelines in encounter cases after it was alleged by the PUCL that 99 encounters took place in Mumbai, resulting in the death of about 135 persons, between 1995 and 1997.
