Role of media in democracy stressed
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 01 2018: As a part of the 5th anniversary celebration of the High Court of Manipur, a one day workshop on 'Legal Reporting and Contempt of Court' was held today at the High Court's auditorium.

High Court of Manipur Acting Chief Justice N Kotiswar, Justice Kh Nobin, AMWJU president in-charge K Sarojkumar, The Tribune Legal Editor Satya Prakash and Editors Guild Manipur president A Mobi attended the workshop as presidium members.

Speaking at the workshop, Justice N Kotiswar asserted that while Executive, Judiciary and Legislature constitute the three pillars of democracy, press/media is the fourth pillar.

Role of media in democracy stressed

It is the press which analyses the activities of the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature.

Again it is press/media which points out to the citizens that democracy is there for them, Justice Kotiswar said.

At the same/time, press/media often encounter a number of difficulties and they come under immense pressure from different quarters every now and then.

Given these facts, it is essential to enhance the credibility of the press, he said.

He highlighted the growing importance of understanding legal reporting as well as contempt of Court.

Justice Kh Nobin said that Indian citizens are guaranteed the right to freedom of expression and speech by Article 19(l)(a) of the Constitution but there are certain restrictions.

Press/media too have limits which they should not/cannot cross.

Journalists need to have thorough knowledge of each and every problem and they should act only on the facts after exercising their wisdom, Justice Nobin said.

Presenting a paper on the topic 'Legal reporting: Trend in Manipur', K Sarojkumar highlighted the importance of scrutinising all Court related news items before they are published.

Ever diminishing trust in the contemporary legal system and impatience to wait for justice through the legal system are two fundamental factors for the acts of mob justice, he said.

If such acts of mob justice should be reduced, people must be aware of the country's legal system, he added.

Impact TV Editor-in-Chief Yumnam Rupachandra presented a paper on 'Challenges before media'.

He said that information has assumed the form of power in the contemporary period but there are also cases about abuse of information.

On account of several challenges and pressure from different quarters, most media houses are reluctant to take up many critical issues.

Many Editors have been attending Courts regularly.

The present situation is such that if anything is written and published against any powerful group/individual, the particular Editor or journalist is compulsorily dragged to Court, Rupachandra said.

Speaking on the topic 'Legal Reporting and Contempt of Court', Satya Prakash observed that difficulties faced by press/media in Manipur is a little different from other parts of the country and this can be attributed to the prevailing conflict situation.

Supreme Court Judges hold frequent interactions with journalists and as such, they have little conflict with the journalist fraternity.

Similar interaction programmes must be introduced in Manipur too, Satya Prakash added.