MURALIKRISHNAN R B

1390
SUMMARY
RIGHTS, PRIVILEGES AND LIABILITIES OF THE PRESS
This chapter in the D.D. Basu speaks of the rights, privileges and the liabilities of the press
with regard to the reporting in the parliament.

The chapter begins with the account of instances of rights of the press in countries such as
UK, which has a common law set up similar to that of India. The chapter proceeds on the
decision of the courts regarding the rights and privileges of the parliament in the various
parliamentary setups across the globe.

The definition of the term public interest and its wide implications are being discussed on the
next pages. Various decisions from the English royal courts and instances from the USA are
also being discussed. The questions which were being discussed were that of whether the
press can assist the scenes of investigation and whether it would come under the ambit of the
public interest.

Then, the Indian circumstances were being analyzed and the provisions of the Indian
Evidence Act were being discussed with regard to the application of the above principles.

Then the privileges of the press derived from the general laws are being discussed below:

a. The right to publish which includes that of any news, reports. But these are subjected
to the limitations imposed by the law.
b. Corresponding the right to publish, the press also has the right not to publish any news
or articles which is a freedom of choice.
c. Another right of the press is regarding the right of circulation of news and other news
reports.
d. The press also has the right to information. These includes the general right of the
citizen to receive information on the matters of the government. The right of the press
to attend the press conference, interviews and collect information all are depending
upon this right.
e. Like any other citizen, the press also has the right to comment on the public affairs.
This right is available to the press to comment on various discourses on public life,
 affairs of the society etc. However, the press should utilize this right with absolute
care and responsibility. This right is prone to be misused to spread misinformation,
hatred and discrimination in society.

After the elaboration of the above rights, the chapter then analyzes the right of the press to
inspect public documents as a part of their right to information and their course of business.
The chapter then traces the various instances from the UK and US laws, where the documents
which are to be scrutinized are analyzed.

Then, the various provisions of the Indian statutes such as the Income-Tax Act, Registration
Act and evidence Act are analyzed to determine what constitutes a public document. The
chapter then proceeds towards these.

The chapter then elaborately discusses about the public, private and judicial documents. The
public documents are those under the section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act. However, in the
case of a private document the press does not have the inspection as a matter of right.
However, the press has the right to examine through the judicial documents as per the
provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure.

There are also exceptions to the same rule if the documents are of the nature of exceptional
ones. The documents which have a content of public interest and if there is a question of
secrecy, then the right to know does not apply. The exception extends to that of privileged
documents which includes secrets of state, communication between the government and its
officers and the sources of information given to or collected by the government servants.

There are also others common law bars against disclosure which are discussed next in the
chapter. These includes communications made inside the house of legislature, communication
between a husband and a wife, matters involving national security, and other privileged
communications between the members of a legislature.

The journalists do not have the constitutional rights to conduct an interview on the prisoners
in the prison and these are all actions which invoke a liability.

Next to the matter of privileged communications is that of confidential information, which if

disclosed would invite legal actions, which includes an action for damages or other legal
actions. The disclosure of a confidential information is a matter of breach of privacy and legal
action can be initiated for the performance of such an action.
The article then reviews the statutory bars against the disclosure through the various Indian
statutes. Section 128 of the Representation of people Act prohibits a polling officer from
communicating anyone the details of the vote of the voter. Similar provisions are found in
statues such as Monopolies and Restrictive trade practices Act, Income Tax Act and other
relevant provisions. The situation is being compared with the scenarios of USA and UK by
comparing with the statutes of those countries.

The chapter then discusses the access of the media to judicial reporting, i.e. in the cases of
civil and criminal courts and other judicial bodies. Various statutes permit the admission of
the press inside the premises of the court. However, the right to be present in the court room
is not a matter of right and is subject to the existing provisions and discretionary powers of
the judge. The provisions of the CrPC states that the journalists will only have a limited space
in the court for the reporting of cases if the physical space inside the courtroom is limited.

Also, the press is also prohibited from the publishing of the in camera proceedings of the
court and such an act would constitute contempt of court under the contempt of court Act
1970. Also as per section 228A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the press is prohibited
from the disclosure of victims of sexual abuse and their identity and such an action will be an
offence. However, such a disclosure is permitted if it is with a bona-fide intention and only if
permission is obtained from the victim, the officer in charge, parents or any other authorized
persons.

The chapter then discusses the admission of the press in cases of Juvenile proceedings which
is governed under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act 2000. The
journalist here is also prohibited from the publication of the identity of the juvenile
delinquents or other victims. The press is also admitted to report the matrimonial proceedings
in a family court as per the provisions of the family law. The bar on disclosure of information
is also available in such a situation.

The chapter then discusses the newly emerging trends in the scenario by citing cases. These
are cases which evolved in the legal systems of UK and USA and the judicial decisions are
analyzed to find out the emerging trends in the issue.

The chapter then discusses the various procedures regarding the admission of the press in the
quazi-judicial bodies and other various government functionaries.
The admission of the press in the public meetings is being discussed in the next section. The
press can be admitted to public meetings but under the restrictions imposed by the statutes.
The Defamation Act 1952 and the public meetings Act 1960 contains the procedures and
restrictions regarding the admission of the press in the public meetings.

The press also has the (i) right to criticize and comment, (ii) right to sue for defamation and
the (iii) right to sue for passing off like any other citizens of the country. Then the false
attribution of authorship is discussed in the Indian context as per the provisions of the
Copyright Act 1957.

Then the rights conferred on the press by the statute are being discussed. The rights include
protection conferred under the section 52(1) of the Copyrights Act 1957.

Section 81 of the Indian Evidence Act provides for the admission of the newspapers as an
evidence under the provisions of the law. Under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, the
press also has certain privileges and exceptions. However, the press is also considered under
the purview of an ordinary citizen and therefore the taxes apply. The press however, has the
power to levy fee for the services that they deliver. The press is also entitled to postal
privileges such as reduction from the book-pocket rate under the section 9 of the Indian Post
Office Act.

Then the chapter discusses the statutory liabilities which are being imposed upon the press
under the Indian context and in comparison with that of other legal systems. These includes
provision 127 of the Representation of people’s Act which imposes penalty over disclosure of
information without authority, the obligation of the press to publish certain information under
Press and Registration of Books Act, Industrial Statistics Act and other relevant provisions.

The press also has the liability not to disclose certain information under the provisions of the
Children Act 1960.

The chapter concludes by the discussion of the emerging trends as per certain case laws. The
various instances of liabilities regarding disclosure of information are discussed in light of the
foreign judgments, where the scope and liability of such a disclosure are being discussed.