Media Trial & Freedom of Speech and Expression

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INTRODUCTION: “A free press lies at the heart of our democracy and its preservation is essential to the survival of liberty. Any inroad made upon the constitutional protection of a free press tends to undermine the freedom of all men to print and read the truth.” The fourth pillar of the democracy of India has the most profound impact on the country’s citizens. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a person can just imagine what an indelible impression a picture leaves on a person’s memory. The media today works as a channel connecting the government and the citizens of any country. It is the media for the masses that helps them form opinions and make judgments regarding various issues. Although, media is massively considered as a "watch dog" of political democracy, too much intervention of this “watch dog” in everything is a matter of concern. The subject of ‘Trial by Media’ is discussed by civil rights activists, constitutional lawyers, judges and academics almost every day in recent times. With the coming into being of the television and cable-channels, the amount of publicity which any crime or suspect or accused gets in the media has reached alarming proportions. Innocents may be condemned for no reason or those who are guilty may not get a fair trial or may get a higher sentence after trial than they deserved. There appears to be very little restraint in the media in so far as the administration of criminal justice is concerned. We are aware that in a democratic country like ours, freedom of expression is an important right but such a right is not absolute in as much as the Constitution itself, while it grants the freedom under Article 19(1)(a), permitted the legislature to impose reasonable restriction on the right, in the interests of various matters, one of which is the fair administration of justice as protected by the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

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