SC tells media to exercise restraint in Aarushi case

NEW DELHI: The 49-day incarceration of Dr Rajesh Talwar, floating of scurrilous allegations against him, his family and friends appears to have caused serious concern to the Supreme Court, which on Tuesday requested the media to exercise restraint in reporting the Aarushi murder case. ( Watch ) Posting a PIL filed by advocate Surat Singh accusing media of irresponsible coverage in the case for hearing on August 18, a Bench comprising Justices Altamas Kabir and Markandey Katju said, "We will only observe that both the print and electronic media should exercise caution in publishing any news regarding the case which may prejudice the case or damage reputations." Singh, in his petition, said, "The recent investigation of Aarushi murder case and its irresponsible coverage by media has brought to fore the serious breach of fundamental rights of a person both by the police and the media." Referring to stories published in the media, which were not only baseless but amounted to serious invasion of the privacy of an individual and his family, the advocate said a new criminal jurisprudence - "guilty till proven innocent" - was being written which was contrary to the accepted maxim "innocent till proven guilty". "Can freedom of press be allowed to degenerate into a licence to malign the character of a dead person? Does our Constitution not guarantee the right to privacy even to the dead," Singh said and sought a direction to restrain the media from publishing stories till the investigation into the crime was complete.
22 Jul 2008, 1730 hrs IST,TNN
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