[Tablighi Jamaat] News reports have been predominantly balanced and neutral, Centre; Supreme Court asks for better affidavit

In a fresh affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Central government has re-asserted that the media has largely been neutral with respect to the reporting on the Tablighi Jamaat event held earlier this year. .Responding to pleas filed against the communalisation of the Tablighi Jamaat event amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centre contends that the petitioner's concerns are based on vague assertions, certain private fact-checking news portals and unverifiable reports..The last hearing in the case took place on October 8, when the Bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde pulled up the Centre for filing an affidavit stating that there "were no instances of bad reporting" when it came to the communalisation of the Tablighi Jamaat issue..Communalisation of Tablighi Jamaat: "Freedom of Speech is one of the most abused freedoms in recent times", CJI Bobde observes.During today's hearing, the Court again expressed that it was not satisfied with the latest affidavit, orally observing that it does not deal with the applicability of the Cable Television Networks Act and the legal regime concerning the same. The Bench of CJI Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,"First you did not file a proper affidavit and then you filed an affidavit which did not deal with the two important questions. This way it cannot be done Mr Mehta. You have to tell us how you have acted under Cable TV Act in some prior incident.".The Bench added, "We want to know the mechanism employed by you and this affidavit has nothing on it. Why should we refer to NBSA etc. when you have the authority to look into it? If it does not exist, then you create an authority. Else we will hand it over to an outside agency.".Evolve mechanism to address grievances against media: Supreme Court to Centre .The matter has now been adjourned by three weeks, after SG Mehta undertook to file a more elaborate affidavit addressing the concerns raised today. The petitioner is also expected to reply by then. .The affidavit filed through Amit Khat, Secretary to the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), dated November 13 reads:."...the petitioner has selectively picked up a few articles/reports appearing in some of the web portals and private fact check portals to create an impression that the media has communalised the issue of Tablighi Jamaat to create a false narrative about the role of media."Government of India, MIB.The affidavit adds, "For instance, the petitioner has referred to an article titled Coronavirus and Nizamuddin: TV news returns to bigotry with a bang of a news portal named Newslaundry (on April 1)… However the same news portal Newslaundry published an article (on April 4)…which has given an opinion about how the fight against COVID-19 has been adversely affected by Tablighi Jamaat which has taken the country and the Muslims on the backfoot." .The Centre's affidavit submits that news reports have reflected multiple viewpoints relating to events and predominantly stuck to a balanced and neutral perspective. ."There could be several views and perceptions in the public domain on a given issue. As a matter of journalistic policy, any section of the media may seek to highlight different events as per their choice. Its projection in a particular way may or may not eventually create a particular view on the mind of the reader/viewer", it is further submitted. .To buttress this contention, the Centre's affidavit highlights the following points:Majority of the leading national newspapers including the Times of India, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times have carried largely factual reports. Online newsportals such as The Print and The Wire have also undertaken objective reporting on events concerning the Tablighi Jamaat.The media has made a clear distinction between the organisers and the attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat event and the larger Muslim community in general. In this regard, reports of the Toi, The Print, Hindustan Times, the Indian Express are cited.The message by the Tablighi Jamaat Chief urging followers to cooperate with the government's prescribed procedure to check on the spread of COVID-19 was also covered by the media.Statements by prominent persons from the Muslim community appealing to people to cooperate with the government in the fight against COVID-19 have been covered by the media.Opinion based articles, the irresponsible behaviour of the organisers was discussed even by writers such as Javed Anand and Firoz Bakht Anand.Further, the action taken by the government authorities against those posting objectionable content on social media has also been reported including on portals such as Newslaundry, The Wire, Indian Express, India News.Statements from political leaders against the communalisation of the event, as well as expressions of anguish over the irresponsible behaviour of the organisation and attendees have been reported..The Centre goes on to emphasise, "The regime of forbearance allows different sections of the media to function with the freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution giving a choice to the viewed to either see all or any sides of a particular view or to choose a particular side on any events…".The affidavit adds that the government has issued several directions to prevent the dissemination of fake news leading to abrogation of communal harmony amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Advisories are also being issued for adherence to the Programme Code by the media. .Further, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued advisories directing intermediaries to remove false news or misinformation concerning COVID-19 which is likely to create panic, disturb public order and communal harmony. .In this regard, the affidavit mentions that in April this year, the government had directed the blocking of: Two social media accounts each from Twitter and Facebook, 739 URLs from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, bringing the total to 743 links on social media for the month of April.Some of the URLs involved content which communalised COVID-19, the affidavit adds. .Immediate and effective steps have been taken to prevent online fake news, the Centre asserts. To this end, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting decided to set up a fact check unit in the Press Information Bureau (PIB) for COVID-19 on April 2. This unit receives messages via pibfactcheck@gmail.com. Information can be accessed via https://factcheck.pib.gov.in, it is submitted. The Centre adds that between April 2 and October 23, this unit received 8,150 cases. Replies have been given in 7,350 cases and reference has been made to states in 800 cases..The affidavit adds that the PIB’s social media handle has done COVID-19 fact checks in 119 cases, including 83 on social media, 7 on television, 3 in print media, 15 on WhatsApp, and 11 on online news portals..Further, in directions issued to states and union territories in April, the Centre also urged for appropriate steps to be taken to prevent fake news. Letters, advisories and communications to this effect can be viewed on the MHA’s website..The media has also been advised to act responsibly and ensure only the dissemination of verified news, as stated in the Supreme Court’s March 31 order. Allied communications have also been made by the News Broadcasters Association and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation to their members, the affidavit states..Breaking: Petition filed in Supreme Court seeking action against media for communalizing Nizamuddin Markaz issue .In view of these submissions, the government goes on to dispute the merits of the petition, contending, ."The petition is based on vague assertions based upon certain “fact-checking news reports” to content that the entire media is perpetuating communal harmony and hatred towards one particular community….wide-ranging views and opinions have been expressed across media platforms on the Tablighi Jamaat issue, which are not communal in nature. In effect, the petitioners are seeking a wide-ranging, age, unrestrained pre-telecast restriction, that too on the basis of unverifiable reports."