Media Must Ensure That Court Orders Are Not Misquoted In Matters Concerning COVID-19 : Karnataka HC

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice B V Nagarathna said

"We are dealing with various sensitive issues concerning COVID-19. We make it clear that while reporting our orders, the media and in particular, the electronic media has to be very careful. The media must ensure that no part of the stand taken by the State Government or no part of the orders passed by this Court should be misinterpreted or misquoted. The electronic media must note that if there is no accurate reporting of the proceedings before the Court, the stand of the State Government and other agencies before the Court and the orders passed by this Court, it may create confusion amongst the citizens and may spread panic."

The observation was made after a petitioner Geetha Misra sent an email complaint alleging that Suvarna News and Digvijaya News Channel had misreported some of the submissions made by the State Government, which have subsequently been recorded in order passed by the court on April 9.

The bench clarified that "This Court had directed the State Government to come out with its response on the aspect of preparedness and while dealing with this direction, the State Government responded by pointing out what kind of infrastructure will be required for dealing with 10,000 COVID-19 patients. We clarify that what is stated in the written submissions which is recorded in paragraph 20 of the order dated 9th April, 2020, does not mean that according to the State Government, the number of COVID-19, positive cases will rise to 10,000 by the end of April, 2020."

It added "The cause of confusion and panic can be misrepresentation of the orders of this Court by the media. We hope and trust that the media will avoid all this."

The state government in its written submission filed by Additional Government Advocate, Vikram Huilgol said "Aware of the fact that such misreporting would cause widespread panic and confusion among the public, and specifically in order to quell any fear that it might have caused, the Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka, issued a clarification late evening on 10.04.2020, reassuring the public and clarifying the State's position in this regard. The State, accordingly, took immediate measures to mitigate the impact of the misreporting by sections of the media."

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