Breaking: Madras HC judgment on publication of judges’, lawyers’ names challenged

A recent judgment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directing media houses not to publish names of lawyer and judges in court related news items had created much furore..This judgment has now been challenged in the Supreme Court by, S Bhaskar Mathuram (appellant)..The case stems from a public interest litigation filed by Mathuram in Madras High Court regarding an incident involving minor children. The Free Press Journal had reported that police had registered cases against six school-going Dalit children, aged between seven and twelve years under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act..The petitioner had prayed, among other things, to quash the FIR lodged in respect of the crime alleged to have been committed in Madurai district. He had also sought compensation for the innocent children who have been named in the FIR, and for the area to be declared as an “untouchability prone” area..The High Court had dismissed the case while coming down upon the petitioner strongly for what it considered to be a publicity seeking exercise..It had stated,.“It appears that he is a practitioner of law. If a practitioner of law is seeking to use the platform of High Court for purposes of gaining popularity and publicity, so that he will be able to attract more number of clients, if not the alleged victims themselves in this case, it would amount to an unethical practice of soliciting work on one’s part. When once the Code of Conduct is prescribed by the Bar Council of India to be always adhered to and followed by every practitioner of law, any attempt to overreach the situation and also to breach it, even in an indirect manner, as has been done in the present case, it must attract necessary corrective action.”.The Court had, therefore, directed the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu to initiate necessary action against the Petitioner for the breach of Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct..Interestingly, the High Court had not stopped there. Instead, it took note of the fact that media houses carry the names of lawyers and judges in court related news..“Often times, we have been noticing that the Print and Electronic Media is carrying on publication of the names of legal practitioners as well as the names of the Judges of the High Court concerned, who dealt with particular cases, publication of names of practitioners who may have appeared for one party or the other in a particular case can lead to an indirect method of soliciting or indulging in advertisement of the professional abilities or skills of the advocates.”.It had therefore, directed the Registrar (Administration) of this Bench to immediately circulate instructions to all Print, Electronic and Media Houses not to publish the names of the practitioners as part of news item..The issue of preserving a balance between freedom of the press and interests of justice has come up time and again in the courts. In 2012, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court headed by then Chief Justice SH Kapadia decided whether or not to frame across-the-board guidelines for reporting sub judice matters..The court in that case found no reason to frame such guidelines, as.“What constitutes an offending publication would depend on the decision of the court on case to case basis.”.The appeal is now listed for tomorrow as item 5 in court 6 before a Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and PC Pant.