Calcutta High Court issues guidelines for media on coverage of school jobs scam; says ED should not leak info to media

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday laid down guidelines for the media to adhere to when reporting on criminal cases concerning the school jobs for cash scam in which Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Abhishek Banerjee is one of the main accused [Rujira Banerjee vs State of West Bengal]. .The Court said that the media should ensure that its reporting is accurate, objective, and supported by material.In the same ruling, the Court also sounded a warning against the leak of information concerning ongoing investigations to the media by central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED)..Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya issued the guidelines on a plea filed by Rujira Banerjee, wife of Abhishek Banerjee, seeking to restrain certain media houses from reporting the ongoing investigation against the couple in the school jobs for cash scam case. She moved the Court alleging that a media trial is going on against her and Banerjee and such media organisations should be restrained from publishing any news with regards to her and her parliamentarian husband.Justice Bhattacharyya has now passed an interim order with brief guidelines for the media to adhere to while reporting criminal cases, especially the ongoing probe against the Banerjee couple. Among other directions, the judge opined that reports that are in the nature of opinions must not be misrepresented as news. "All forms of media (print, electronic, digital etc) shall clearly delineate the slots, sections, webpage, etc., which are designated specifically for news items and distinguish those from similar spaces meant for opinionated articles and other literature," the judge ordered, on this aspect. .The bench further underlined that the media reporting should be accurate and attributable to verified sources. "The media must ensure its reporting is objective, accurate and corroborated with materials and sources. The exact source may or may not be disclosed but the editors or the board of editors must be able to corroborate such material, if so required by any court of law or probe agency or self regulating authority," the bench opined. .Further, the bench made it clear that in the articles that stigmatise or cast aspersions against any individuals, the name of the author must be clearly mentioned and the same cannot be left attributed to an anonymous author.The Court also cautioned against linking people with ongoing probes before a chargesheet is filed by the investigating authority. "Media shouldn't publish photos of any person linking that person to the probe in its news reporting about the probe or any facet of the probe, before the chargesheet is filed. It shall also not telecast live video of search, seizure or raid by the probe agencies," the judge said..The bench also laid down a few guidelines for the probe agencies to follow, especially the ED which is investigating the school jobs for cash scam case. Such agencies were directed to ensure that no information about the probe is leaked to the media, the Court said. "Before filing chargesheet, ED or any other probe agency, shouldn't disclose to the media or public, the details of search, seizure, interrogation and investigation against any person be it an accused, suspect or witness in a given case," the judge ordered. Lastly, the bench made it clear that the probe agencies must not involve or be accompanied by the media while carrying out any raids, seizures, etc. or disclose prior information to the media before the same is conducted..The bench clarified that all the media houses and the probe agencies will have to "strictly" adhere to these guidelines till January 15, 2024 or till further orders. It will hear the final arguments in the matter in the month of December 2023.A detailed copy of the order is awaited.