New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to put in place a mechanism to address the grievance against visual media for airing fake news or news with a slant that may be detrimental to a section of people or a community.
“If it (mechanism) does not exist, you create one, otherwise we will hand over the complaints to a private agency,” said Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, who was heading the three-judge bench.
The court was hearing petitions by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and others seeking action against news channels for giving a communal twist to the Nizamuddin Markaz congregation, dubbing all those who attended the religious gathering as spreaders of coronavirus.
At the outset of the hearing, frowning at the second affidavit filed by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, CJI Bobde said, “Mr. Solicitor General, we are not satisfied with your affidavit. First, you did not file a proper affidavit and then you filed an affidavit which did not deal with the two important questions. We had asked you to specify how Cable TV Network Act can be used to control the contents of Cable TV network. Your affidavit is silent on it. The other issue is what steps you can take to deal with such complaints. Your affidavit is silent on it.”
