Prabha Dutt vs Union Of India & Ors on 7 November, 1981

(1982 AIR, 6 1982 SCR (1)1184)

NAME- Adarsh Meher

ENROLLMENT- 18FLICDDN01063
COURSE- BBA-LL.B. (HONS.) 2018-23
SECTION-B
 INTRODUCTION

Appellant- Prabha Dutt

Advocate for the appellant- R.K. Garg

Respondent- Union of India
Advocate for the respondent- Ms. A. Subhashini, N.C. Talukdar
Judge- CHANDRACHUD, Y.V. ((CJ) SEN, A.P. (J) ISLAM, BAHARUL (J)
Court- Supreme Court of India
Decided on- 7th November, 1981
Acts- Constitution, IPC, CrPC
About the case
The Supreme Court upheld the right claimed by the
press to interview prisoners that the right claimed
by the Press was not the right to express any
particular view or opinion but right to means of
information through the medium of interview of the
prisoners.
Facts
The petitioner, Smt Prabha Dutt Chief reported of Hindustan Times
filed a petition under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution asking for a
writ directing the respondent, the superintendent of Tihar Jail, to allow
her to interview the two convicts named Billa and Ranga who are
charged with death sentence for an offence under Section 302 of the
Indian Penal Code and the petitions filled by them to the President of
India for communication of the sentence are reported to have been
rejected by the President recently.
Judgement
The Apex court ordered the superintendent of the Tihar jail to allow the
representatives of a few news paper to interview two death sentence
culprit under Article 19 (1)(a) though with the observation that the right
under Article 19(1)(a) “is not an absolute right, nor indeed does it confer
any right on the press to have an unrestricted access to means of
information’’. In case the opportunity to interview is denied, the reason
should fall within the ambit of Article 19(2) and thus shall have to be
recorded in writing.
Rule 549(4) of the Jail Manual provides that a prisoner
under a sentence of death shall be allowed interviews and
other communications with relatives, friends and legal
advisers, journalists and newspapermen, though not
expressly referred to in this rule cannot be denied the
opportunity of interview without good reasons. There is
no reason why newspapermen who could be termed as
friends of the society be denied the right of interview under
rule 549(4).
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

● https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5609abf6e4b014971140dc2e#7
● https://indiankanoon.org/doc/671310/
● https://www.lawfinderlive.com/Articles-1/Article2.htm
● https://shortnotesonlaw.blogspot.com/2014/05/prabha-dutt-vs-union-of-
india-ors.html
THANK YOU!