The Himachal Pradesh High Court recently comprising of a bench of Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan remarked that Journalist's disorderly conduct causes irreparable damage to journalism, high time that govt. reviews list of accreditations. (Vijay Gupta v State of H.P and Others)
Facts of the Case
The petitioner was working in the field of journalism for the past more than 13 years as the Editor of the Hindi Weekly namely ‘Him Ujala’ circulated in Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana having around 6,000/- copies circulation per week. The petitioner news weekly has been given award in the field of journalism by the Government of Himachal Pradesh i.e. ‘Laghu Patrikarita ke Kshetra me Nirantar Parkashan Hetu’, yet the accreditation of the petitioner has been cancelled only on the ground that there are certain FIRs pending against him. Hence, a plea was filed.
Contention of the Parties
The Counsel on behalf of the petitioners submitted that the impugned action on the part of the respondent-State in stopping publication of the tenders and classified ads of the government and further not renewing the accreditation of the petitioner, is a direct attack on the freedom of press which is one of the pillars of democracy and it is imperative to ensure that there is no attack on the freedom of press and, therefore, also the action of the respondents-State is illegal.
The Counsel on behalf of the respondents submitted that the petitioner’s accreditation and suspension was placed before the Press Accreditation Committee, which is the final authority as per Rule 4 of H.P. Press Correspondents Accreditation and Recognition Rules, 2002 (for short ‘the Rules’), who after scrutiny of the record decided to keep under suspension the accreditation of the petitioner till the final outcome of the criminal cases pending against him in various Courts.
Courts Observation & Judgment
The Court referred to the judgment in the case of Surya Prakash Khatri vs. Smt. Madhu Trehan [1992 (2001) DLT 665], where it was said, “power of the Press is almost like nuclear power – it can create and it can destroy”. Considering this, the Court stressed that “because of mushroom growth of journalist and because of the cut-throat competition amongst the journalists themselves, their standards are declining leading to the decline of the institution of journalism itself. This is further compounded by the accreditation offered by the State Government to so called “journalists”, who in the real sense are not journalists but only enjoy the facilities accorded and available to accredited journalists”.
Furthermore, the Court said,“it is imperative that the owner/editor of a newspaper like the petitioner shoulder greater responsibility and in case his own conduct is under scanner, then obviously, his accreditation has to be suspended”.
Hence, the instant petition was disposed. The Court also ordered the State to and revise the list of accreditation so as to ensure that only genuine and credible correspondents are accorded accreditation.
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