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dhyeyaias.com/current-affairs/articles/the-relevancy-of-media-trial-in-democracy

The Relevancy of Media Trial in Democracy - Daily Current Affair

Article

Reference :-
Recently, the Bombay High Court has strictly reacted to the media's reportage in
the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.

Introduction :-
Justice Dipankar Dutt, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and Justice GS.
Kulkarni's bench reacted strongly to the role of the media while hearing a public
interest petition on the media reportage in the Sushant Singh case.
Seeing the media's excessive manipulation, in this case, the High Court bench has
"instructed the media to stay within its boundaries". The court also said that if the
media's intervention obstructs the investigation process, it will be considered
contempt of court.
In recent years, media coverage in judicial cases has increased a lot. This process
is known as the Media trial.

Media Trial: -
Media trial verifying the conviction of a person through newspapers, television
before or after the decision of the Hon'ble Courts in any case. The media trial is
known as the judicial role of the media in any case.

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Has media trials provided some strength to democracy?
The concept of democracy is obsessed with the principles of equality, fairness, and
justice. Media Trial strengthens democratic aspirations in the following situations:
As is well known that India's judicial process is executed at a very slow speed. In
such a case, Justice delayed is assumed as justice denied. Media trial acts as a
catalyst to speed up the judicial process.
Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index includes India in the
list of most corrupt countries. The 80th position in the 2019 index reflects the
penetration of corruption in India. Many times media Trial reduces the possibility
of corruption.
Public is paramount in democracy. Media trials bring the matter to the public
forum thereby it helps in increasing public awareness.
Media trials have played a positive role in many famous cases. Such as the
Nirbhaya case, Jessica Lal's case, etc.

Media trial as an interrupter to democratic principles: -

Media trials do not ensure compliance with the criminal justice procedure
established in Indian laws. This investigation also affects the mental state of the
probing agencies causing delays in knowing the reality of the crime.
At times, extreme media trials also affect the privacy of the so-called convicts by
the media. This is against the fundamental rights described in Article 21.
The media trial is driven by feelings more than facts that deny the principle of
justice.
The media convicts the so-called guilty without giving them a chance to say
something about themselves. This situation contradicts the principles of natural
justice.
Separation of power has been given importance in a democracy. Media trials can
be considered as an intervention in the judiciary by the media.
Questions asked during media trials violates a person's dignified life and become a
defamation factor. Defamation is also included in the Indian Constitution's
reasonable restriction in freedom of speech and expression. Thus, media trials
also misuse the freedom of speech and expression.
It creates a situation of trust deficit for the individual's about state, society, law.
The media entangled in the media trials are sometimes disoriented by their actual
role, which makes people unaware of basic issues like education, health,
employment.
More than 70% of media is privately owned, so the possibility of commercial use
of media trials increases. Sheena Vora's case, the Aarushi murder case shows the
failure of media trials.

Conclusion:

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 Media is considered the fourth pillar of democracy. In such a situation, the media
must protect democratic principles. The reach of media is very wide, in which case
the responsibility of media also increases. Controlling the media is also against
democratic principles, so it is necessary that the media improve itself with help of
government and civil society and strengthen its position as a pillar of democracy.

General Studies Paper 2

Polity and Governance

Mains Question:-

In the present time, the role of media is becoming interrupter in the democratic
judicial process. Is the divergence of the media from its role causing the fallacy of
democratic values?

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