The Madras High Court, on June 20, 2023, raised concerns regarding the selective telecast of proceedings in the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. During the hearing of a case filed in 2012 and 2015, which complained about the omission of opposition members' questions from the telecast, a division bench consisting of Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu questioned why the assembly proceedings could not be telecast in their entirety at the end of each business day, excluding only the expunged portions.
The bench also sought clarification on when Speaker M. Appavu informed the House about the possibility of live telecast of speeches made during the zero hour, provided that all party leaders unanimously agree to discuss a specific subject. Assembly Secretary K. Srinivasan, in an additional counter affidavit, quoted the Speaker as stating that live telecasting was under consideration without specifying the date of the statement. The court directed Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram to ascertain the exact date by June 26.
The interim order was issued in response to a writ petition filed by Lok Satta Party State President D. Jagadheeswaran in 2012 and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) leader A. Vijayakant in 2015, advocating for live telecast of the assembly proceedings. Former Minister and AIADMK chief whip S.P. Velumani, who had recently filed an impleading petition, expressed his concern over selective telecasting.
Senior Counsel Vijay Narayan, representing Velumani, argued that technological advancements have made it possible to view the proceedings of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and all Legislative Assemblies across the country through the National eVidhan Application (NeVA) mobile app. However, he noted that only truncated portions of the Tamil Nadu Assembly proceedings were being telecast on the app, with the questions raised by opposition members being edited out.
The Advocate General objected to Velumani's impleading petition, citing a change in regime since the main writ petitions were filed. Consequently, Narayan announced that a separate writ petition would be filed to address his client's grievances. The Advocate General informed the court that since January 6, 2022, the first hour of the Tamil Nadu Assembly proceedings, known as the Question Hour, has been telecast in its entirety. Additionally, live telecasts of discussions on call attention motions and important resolutions have been introduced since April 12, 2023.
The edited video footage, which includes speeches by members from all political parties, is made available to television channels a few hours after the assembly proceedings. The Advocate General emphasized that the final authority regarding telecast decisions rests with the Speaker. He invoked Article 122 of the Constitution, asserting that the court cannot question the Speaker's decisions on telecasting specific proceedings while omitting others.
The Madras High Court will continue hearing the case on June 26, aiming to address the concerns regarding the telecast of assembly proceedings in Tamil Nadu.
Picture Source :
