Katju seeks more teeth for PCI, power to fine

Mtoday news / PTI

New Delhi, Dec 11 : Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has sought ’’more teeth’’ for the regulatory body and expansion of its ambit over the electronic media and Internet for which, he suggested, a legislation should be introduced in the Parliament.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Katju said the only power conferred on the Press Council under section 14(1) of the Act is to "warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, news agency, editor or journalist".

 

"Experience has shown that a mere warning, admonition or censure does not ordinarily have any effect on the concerned newspaper, news agency editor or journalist, as they tend to ignore the same," he said in his letter, now made public under the RTI Act.

"Some more teeth should be given to the Press Council. Among the various suggestion which have been made by the Press Council earlier for taking action against those who violate journalistic ethics are: imposition of fine, withdrawal of government advertisement, suspension/cancellation of license/accreditation," he said.

He said legislation should have provisions for persuasion and discussion with the "delinquent" news organisation or news person and only when such methods become ineffective, harsher steps should be initiated against them.

Katju said, "this provision, in my opinion is necessary because while the defects in the media should ordinarily be sought to be rectified by the democratic method of discussion and persuasion, there must be power in the Press Council to take harsher steps where discussion and persuasion has proved to be ineffective."

In the letter, Katju urged for renaming the body as Media Council, which should include electronic media and Internet as the present Press Council Act only deals with print media.

"The electronic media including the television and Internet should be brought within the purview of the Act by a suitable amendment," the former Supreme Court judge has said.

The letter dated October 11 which has been provided to activist Subhash Agrawal, Katju quoted his recent speech to say there is no freedom which is absolute and hence the freedom of the media cannot also be an absolute one.

Katju said while media must have freedom to perform its functions properly with a sense of responsibility.

"There is a growing perception in the public that sometimes the media goes overboard and acts irresponsibly only to sensationalise the matter," he said.

On the issue of expanding the scope of the Press Council to electronic media and the Internet, the former Supreme Court judge said both the national level parties in Parliament seem to be in agreement with this proposal as he attached an email from BJP leader Prakash Javdekar who is also the member of PCI.