The government is silent on the action taken against TV channels in a case linked to media reporting on the Tablighi Jamaat gathering at a Delhi mosque in violation of virus restrictions, the Supreme Court said today, stressing on the need of a "regulatory mechanism".
"The government is silent on the action that has been taken and the power it has to regulate the TV channels. If there is no regulatory mechanism, create one or else we will hand it over to outside agency. Regulation cannot be left to the NBSA (News Broadcasters Standards Authority)" Chief Justice SA Bobde said today, adding that the top court is not satisfied with the centre's affidavit which was shared in the top court, the second in the last few weeks.
Today's hearing came nearly a month after the top court berated the government for having a junior officer file what it called an "extremely offensive and brazen" response.
"First, you did not file a proper affidavit and then you filed an affidavit which did not deal with the two important questions. This way it cannot be done Mr Mehta... we are not satisfied with your reply. We asked you to tell about what action taken has been taken. But not a whisper in your affidavit," the bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, underlining that the government did not deal with the Cable TV Network Act in its response as it highlighted that "applicability of the Act in controlling media has a great consequence in this country".
"Tell us what's the present legal regime you have... you haven't told anything," the top court said. The Solicitor General told the court that a fresh affidavit will be filed.
The centre has defended the media in this case and said in its response to the Supreme Court that there was "no instance of bad reporting".
The Supreme Court last month pulled up the centre on its affidavit and said it "must tell us instances of bad reporting" and what action had been taken. "Freedom of speech is one of the most abused freedoms in recent times," Chief Justice SA Bobde had said during the hearing last month.
The top court has been hearing petitions for action against the media for "spreading hatred" over the Tablighi meet at Markaz Nizamuddin earlier this year.
The meeting in March generated a huge controversy as it became a coronavirus super-spreader with many cases across the country linked to those who had attended the gathering.
The government has told the court that it has blocked over 740 links on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, which linked the spread of coronavirus with religion.
Last month, the government was asked to file another affidavit by the Secretary of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, on the petition seeking action against some TV channels.
"You cannot treat this court the way you are treating it. Some junior officer has filed the affidavit. Your affidavit is evasive and says petitioner shows no instance of bad reporting. You may not agree but how you can say there is no instance of bad reporting shown," the Chief Justice had questioned.
The top court will again take up the case after three weeks.
"Bad In Law": Top Court Judge On 1981 Reference In Aligarh Muslim University Case "Unemployed": Chief Justice DY Chandrachud's Parting Dig At Trolls Supreme Court Notice To Karnataka On CBI Plea Against Consent Withdrawal For Probe Agency Trump Asks Musk To Join Call With Zelensky In Big Hint At His Possible Role Trump's Immigration Curbs To Impact Millions Of Indians, Their Children "Unemployed": Chief Justice DY Chandrachud's Parting Dig At Trolls Why Chief Justice-Designate Sanjiv Khanna Had To Give Up His Morning Walks Pappu Yadav Receives Threat From Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, Again Pentagon Lifts Ban On Contractors Fixing US-Supplied Weapons In Ukraine Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.