Expressing concern over a Patna High Court order restraining the media from reporting on the investigation of the Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case, the Editors Guild of India has appealed to the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the Patna High Court to review the restraint order and uphold the principles of a free media and democracy.
Recently, a field action project of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, had unearthed instances of sexual abuse at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur in Bihar, leading to massive outrage.
‘Will hamper probe’
“A verbal order issued by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukesh R. Shah and Justice Ravi Ranjan on August 23 said that till the investigation into the shelter home was completed, all the print and electronic media were restrained from reporting anything with respect to the case; more particularly, with respect to the investigation already undertaken and/or which was likely to take place as it could seriously hamper the investigation of the case,” said a statement issued by the Editors Guild on Saturday.
“The Guild is distressed to note that the court, instead of protecting media freedom, has issued an order that has effectively curbed it.”
‘A growing trend’
It added, “It [the Editors Guild] condemns such orders as it believes that such restrictions on reporting on investigations on a matter of public importance are counterproductive. The Guild decries the recent growing trend of courts issuing such restraint orders on media that undermine one of the pillars of democracy.”