No more publishing the names of lawyers and judges by media?

The Supreme Court today dismissed the appeal against the Madras High Court judgment directing the media to not publish names of lawyers and judges while reporting court news.

. A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and PC Pant refused to admit the appeal filed by advocate Baskar Mathuram remarking that there “is nothing in the case”. Senior Advocate R Basant appeared for Mathuram.

. Last month, a Bench of Justices Nooty Ramamohana Rao and SS Sundar directed the Madras High Court’s Registrar to instruct print and electronic media outlets not to publish the names of lawyers and judges appearing in cases.

. That order stemmed from a writ filed by Mathuram in an incident involving minor children. The Free Press Journal 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 earlier this month.

. The court, however, refused to entertain the petition altogether, dismissing it as an attempt to gain popularity. The petitioner did not get away with a mere telling off; the Bench went on to direct the Registrar to lodge a complaint with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with a view to taking action against the petitioner.

. Quite bizarrely, the court went on to elucidate on the negative aspects of publishing the names of legal practitioners in the media.

. “…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.”

. The Bench proceeded to order a similar prohibition with respect to judges as well. With the Supreme Court dismissing the appeal, the Madras High Court’s order has attained finality. One can only wait and watch till the instructions are released by the High Court’s Registry.

No more publishing the names of lawyers and judges by media?

Murali Krishnan

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