MEDIA AND HUMAN RIGHTS: ASSESSMENT IN THE LIGHT OF

JUDICIAL DECISIONS
INTRODUCTION

Human rights are inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex,
nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. These rights
include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture,
freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, right
to protection and many more. The foundation of modern day human
rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UN
General Assembly adopted 30 articles of this Declaration in 1948. Since
India was signatory to it, the Fundamental Rights guaranteed in Part III of
the Indian Constitution are in conformity with these articles. When its
spoken of media, its an obvious statement that media plays an
enormously important role in the protection of human rights, most
significantly by exposing human rights violations and offering the required
space for different voices to be expressed and heard in public discourse.
Media has been entrusted with the responsibility of guarding the rights of
the people in a democratic political system.

LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Mediated Rights: Media, Women and Human Rights in India by J.

Prabhash:– At large the paper discusses how media in a democratic
polity is supposed to act as a pedagogue of freedom and a telling
critique of all illegitimate practices and formations of power. However,
in actual practice, it fails to fulfill such a role as it could hardly maintain
a clinical indifference in reflecting social reality. This is more so in the
case of protecting the human rights of marginalized sections of society
like women. Neither its class predilection nor its patriarchal inclination
allows the media to perform such a task. Post-independence history of
Indian media testifies to this fact. It is true that there had been
occasional bouts of media activism on key gender issues, but they were
episodical and had little consistency of concern. Further it always
stopped short of interrogating the structural deficiencies of the system.
Instead, much of the effort was at presenting sensational accounts of
issues to titillate viewers/readers.
2. Human Rights and Media by Anil Pinto:– This paper points towards the
pivotal role that media can play in ensuring that the people who make a
political system enjoy its positive outcome. However, it is important to
come out of the visionary discourse of media and critically look at its
role and function in our present socio-political context. This paper tries
 to focus on three issues: role of media in protecting and promoting
human rights, media as the cause for violation of human rights, and
lastly, media as the mediator in rethinking human rights. The paper will
also attempt to problematise the existing discourse of human rights and
media.
3. Human Rights and Media: A comparative study by Mohit Singhvi:- This
paper at large discusses the Human Rights, rights guaranteed to the
media under the Constitution of India and issues so faced in the
country and the judiciary so as to what all impacts have been there at
large by analysing the various case laws. It further enlightens that he
press has a duty to show that it serves public interest at large. It is also
the essential duty of press to strike that proper balance between
citizens right to privacy and public’s right to information vis-à-vis the
role of media i.e. the press.
4. Role of the Media in Protecting Human Rights in India - A socio Legal
Dimension by Jonna Ramanjaneyulu:- This book explains about the
freedom of speech and expression and Human Rights. The analysis of
the Socio legal manner. The role of media in India how to protect the
people who are living in India. The main aim is to provide good
information to the public who are watching, listening and reading. The
technological revolution of the last two decades has its impact on the
generation, processing, dissemination and consumption of news. The
effective media can be used for advocating the human rights and
building public opinion in favour of strict enforcement of rights. Every
democratic setup in the social texture has an inseparable part that is
the press, which has now expanded to include electronic media and
new media. The Constitution also provides every Indian citizen the right
to freedom, more specifically; the Freedom of Speech and Expression
Article 19(1) (a). Any right cannot be given in an absolute way and so
restrictions are placed to this right under Article 19(2).

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

As such it could be said that with the prevailing conditions; there is need
for proper check on the functioning of media as well. Today we happen to
see that there are many occasions wherein media either plays a biased
role or disseminate information which manipulated for sensitizing so that
they could improve their viewership and readership; and then there are
instances wherein the media has been treated harshly. Therefore, the
need of the hour is to have an authority which could closely and regularly
keep an eye on modus operandi of media and put a tab on them
whenever they seem to be engaging in acts which tarnishes the media’s
image. With these initiatives, the violation of human rights through, by or
in media organizations could be prevented. Media freedom has been
deteriorating around the world over the past decade. In some of the most
influential democracies in the world, populist leaders have overseen
concerted attempts to throttle the independence of the media sector.
While the threats to global media freedom are real and concerning in their
own right, their impact on the state of democracy is what makes them
truly dangerous. Experience has shown, however, that press freedom can
rebound from even lengthy stints of repression when given the
opportunity. The basic desire for democratic liberties, including access to
honest and fact-based journalism, can never be extinguished.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology for this research shall be a Doctrinal methodology which

will be totally focussing upon the legal sources thereby establishing what
the law is often a necessary precursor to researching other legal
questions particularly in areas where the law is uncertain or evolving. It
shall encompass any form of purely legal analysis, including the history of
law, what the law was previously, what the law is now and whether there
are indications as to how the law might be evolving or developing. It will
further focus on various case laws and statutes apart from the legal
sources.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 Whether or not the media has been in violation of human rights or

is it just complying with its own fundamental rights duties such that
as the freedom of expression?
 Whether or not the media has a negative or a bias impact on the
Indian Judiciary? Does media is to be given credit that several
issues related to human rights violations, when brought to light
have been taken up by the Indian judiciary and has led to upholding
and expanding the meaning of human rights?
 Whether or not there is a need to protect media so that the “voice
of the society” is safe and the freedom of media is not weakened?
 Whether or not the violation of human rights if any by the media
can be prevented?

DELIMITATION

As stated herein that the study shall be a doctrinal based, it will be based
on the laws, statutes, case law and an analysis via the past as well as the
present cases that are in relation to the media; the Indian Judicial
System; Constitution of India; rights guaranteed under the Constitution to
the general public as well as the media and the human rights.
 PROPSED HEADINGS

 Historical Backdrop
 Introduction
 Human Rights, Freedom of Press and the Constitution of India
 Media as the promoter of human rights in India
 Media as the promoter of human rights violations
 Insensitive and irresponsible reporting in the name of the 'right to
free expression’
 Right to Privacy and Media
 Trial by Media: The real scenario and the Indian Judicial System
 Rethinking the role of media and human rights
 Conclusion
 Bibliography

*The contents of this Synopsis may vary in the final report of the Research Project.