Letter to the Hoot: media and the judicial process

BY Sachin Agarwal| IN Opinion | 25/04/2004
Can/should the media affect the judicial process?
 

 

Dear Editor,

 

The NDTV India channel on 15 April 2004 ran a story of a person who qualified for the IAS exam three years ago. But he could not get a posting as his eyesight was very poor (-12). To contest against the decision this man went to court against the government. The channel claims that it showed a story on his plight some two-three months back. This has lead to the man securing a favorable court judgment from the court.  

It used the phrase,  "NDTV ki khabar ka asar" as if the court judgement was due to NDTV highlighting the man`s plight. In the end of the story i remember it asked the man "Are you feeling good?" to which he replied "yes - I am feeling good today". 

The court ordered the government to post the man in Postal Services within 3 months. This incident and reporting of NDTV raises some issues in my mind.

 

  1. Should the channel take credit for whatever relief the man got from the court?
  2. Can and should the media influence the judicial process? Saying that the favourable court judgment is due to NDTV highlighting the case, may be tantamount to influencing the judicial process.
  3. Why should NTDV India not be liable for influencing the court?
  4. Will it not be better to leave the court to do its job and the media does it own?

 

 
Sachin Agarwal
Lucknow
21.4.04