CONSTITUTIONALITY OF MEDIA TRIALS

INTRODUCTION
Mass media is the medium that helps us to communicate with people to
inform them with big and crucial announcements. mass media has been present since the
dawn of civilization. there used to messengers who’d circulate recent important discussions
that took place in the court of the monarchs they also used to transmit the notices that
were passed out for the population of the kingdom. the medium for informing people at
farer distances was by writing letters and sending them around. in a nutshell, news was
spread around the world through word on the street and hearsay. although this wasn’t a
legitimate way as it leads to spreading of inappropriate information as at the end of the day
it was based on rumours and wasn’t concrete and reliable in nature. the need for having an
organization that specifically works on keeping people informed of the most curated and
filtered version of current scenarios that impact us immensely. Germany was the first
country to publish the very first newspaper. it was called the relation by Johann Carolus
(Anon., n.d.). newspapers have been around since the 1700s available for everyone without
the segregation of class they became the foundation of democracy. the knowledge
descripted in the newspaper started making people realize the ways they were being
exploited and they started fighting for their rights because of news papers giving them a
concrete basis to keep their stands firm.

While still newspapers weren’t enough to regulate important news all around the
globe there had to be extension to the mediums. soon, radios were introduced from which
news was spread around a large diameter. then came the television where individuals
starting being able to get informed with news worldwide. in rise of the fight for freedom
mass media became a platform for common people to express their views and to have
legitimate information of where they stand as a country. the mass media were given rights
to create news until they are careful of it not being defaming or misleading. freedom of
press was implied under section 19(1)a of the constitution of India1. this right came under
the right to speech, right to press is a fundamental right.

Many times, crucial world crisis and major case were able to be resolved speedily
because of the media displaying it on the news. that is what I’ll be discussing about in this
article the legitimacy of media trials and their merits and demerits.

WHAT ARE MEDIA TRIALS:

Media trials is the broadcasting of news that initiates a discussion of recent or ongoing
occurrences. putting forward certain judgement even before the judicial system of the
respective case has gotten to examine it. for an instance let’s assume there had been a
1
The fundamental rights of the citizen of India are mentioned in the constitution of India from article (12-35).
murder whose hearing is pending. before even the suit begins media covers the story and
somewhat considers who was the accused beforehand. this induces awareness among
common people leading to a need for a proper justice. if a certain case is not given enough
attention by the officials such media trials help in boosting the process. because of this
method a mass movement is created which puts a lot of pressure on the government and
judicial systems to take precise steps so that justice is provided rapidly. sometimes press
releases some important evidences that helps with the investigation process of many
cases.to give an insight into what I am trying to explain we can talk about how the Harshit
Mehta scam was unravelled by the spiralling articles by Sucheta dalal (Anon., n.d.). she
exposed Harshad Mehta with her enthralling journalistic skills. she was the perfect example
of how media trials help in the justice system. she had the whole coverage of the story of
the scam. she was aware of every single detail yet she didn’t release the article until she had
access to legitimate evidence. journalist and news reporters from decades ago had one
main motto of providing the whole truth behind prominent issues with heavy impacts. they
did their work with the intention to inquire people about the reality.

The main reason why media trials in my opinion are very beneficiary is because of
how the press represents the population of the true citizens of the country. the media is a
forum for common people to share their view points on important decisions. it helps people
understand how the justice system functions. mass media in general is a very necessary
medium not just considering the media trial perspective but also life affirming issues and
spreading cognizance on issues that should bring a change.

THE DEMERITS OF MEDIA TRIALS :

While presenting the data of a case on news or news article pieces journalists should
make sure that they have valid and genuine evidence. so that , the audience aka the people
of the country with the most filtered and reliable. if the further protocol is not followed it
leads on to misrepresent the presiding office that is working on providing us with justice.
they should try to maintain transparency with the information they provide and avoid
promoting defamatory matters that might cause harm to one’s reputation 2. make sure that
while rooting for justice not to humiliate an individual and not to interfere in someone else’s
life and not violate their right to privacy3. not induce rage against the accused as it may led
the mass of population that consumes the news to cause violence. building unnecessary
rage is the most toxic perspective of media trials. several times the news that is displayed
looks like pointing fingers at each other.

2
Defamation is causing harm to one’s reputation by stating false information about them.
3
Right to privacy is a fundamental right that is mentioned in the article 21 of the constitution of India stating
that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by
law” (Anon., n.d.).
 As we discussed earlier prior in time the main motive of journalists was to inquire
people with the truth. but nowadays, the essence of true journaling is fading away.
journalists print and present news to increase trps4 and because of the same reason news
channels don’t broadcast important news. they go heights to increase views even promote
false information that may be provocative enough to increase ratings. in contrary to Sucheta
dalal, Arnab Goswami misrepresented the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case by misappropriating
information about the case. he accused rhea Chakraborty with no concrete evidence and
caused a huge amount of humiliation and mental distress. where at the end the judgement
of the case completely opposed the allegation that were put on rhea Chakraborty by Arnab
Goswami.

As I stated before media trial is very essential until it does not interfere between the
judiciary procedures. many times it happens that the press releases evidence that causes
confusion in trials. the enraged public that has consumed misleading news causes havoc and
violence in the legal procedures. not just legal procedures but investigation processes are
also affected hugely. the press spreads false hearsay about the police or any system that
works in the investigation so much that the trust of people on them is reducing. people
need to have some kind of patience towards the government procedures. although, media
trials should be conducted when the government or judiciary fails to do so. media trials are
important to maintain a source of communication between the public and the government
so that there are chances of rumours but these days the press is failing to do so by
spreading rumours themselves just to make it more interesting to hike trp (Anon., n.d.).

In an interview with NDTV justice B A khan, former chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir
high court stated that media trials and the hype that media creates about already
considering someone guilty in selective cases has a disastrous effect on the working of the
judiciary.

In another instance, while talking about his book batla house by Karnal Singh he said
that the media should create a boundary line that they shouldn’t cross so as to not
intervene between the investigation. he told that in the case of batla house case the
controversy that is arising and what the media was writing was totally wrong and was
devoid of any facts. he stated that it was very typical of the media to sensationalise this for
their trps. for example, there was a story stating there were three bullets shot in the back of
late inspector Mohan Chand Sharma whereas in the post mortem report it stated that there
were two bullets shot that to from the front not the back.

4
Trp-target rating point; it is the metre to indicate the number of audiences that has viewed a particular form
of media.
CONSTITUTIONALITY OF MEDIA TRIALS WITH LIMITATIONS:
As already discussed, earlier media trials are a very essential part of justice procedure
until and unless the media spreads positive news and supports truth not mislead them and
even infuse fear in them. they should step at a certain moment when it starts seeming to
intervene in the judiciary. the press can really make a big change if they use the platform,
they have cautiously. if the news is filtered out and very firm in actuality it actually can help
with improving the judiciary of our country. is why I say that media trials should be
constitutional5 until and unless its appropriate and with facts.

CONCLUSION :
The press is a very important platform that help with maintaining the interrogation
between the government and the population of the country. recently, it was ruled out that
news reporters should be considered as essential workers6 as they risk their lives to collect
important information. even during the world was crumbled due to the pandemic the
reporters were out there keeping us updated. the mass media is a very respectful profession
and the defaulters in this profession need to understand the important news reporting
holds.

References
Anon., n.d. [Online]
Available at: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/entertainment/everything-to-know-about-sucheta-
dalal-the-real-hero-of-the-harshad-mehta-scam/?ref=clipboardcopy

Anon., n.d. [Online]

Available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/when-and-where-was-the-first-newspaper-
published/articleshow/2477418.cms#:~:text=Johann%20Carolus%20(1575%2D1634),as%20the
%20world's%20first%20newspaper.

Anon., n.d. [Online]

Available at: https://blog.ipleaders.in/famous-cases-media-trials-india/

Anon., n.d. [Online]

Available at: http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1630/Right-To-Privacy-Under-Article-21-
and-the-Related-Conflicts.html#:~:text=As%20already%20discussed%20Article%2021,to
%20procedure%20established%20by%20law%E2%80%9D.&text=It%20was%20held%20by%20the,of
%20life%20a

Anon., n.d. 1. [Online]

Available at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/family-and-social-supports/covid-19/
list_of_essential_services.pdf

5
Constitutional is something that is approved by the constitution of India.
6
Essential services are those that function in preserving , health and public safety (Anon., n.d.).