[Media Trial In Sushant Singh Rajput Case]Live-Updates From Bombay HC

Hearing ends for the Day.

Court will continue hearing the case on October 21.

Bench tells ASG to address it on

“Why is this being followed, despite there being guidelines; why is the same being forwarded to NBSA & why isn’t the ministry looking into these complaints? Is this an escape route for channels?”

Bench tells the ASG that it will hear then for 10 minutes on Wednesday on 10.30 AM.

Datar: I would beseech your lordships not to take away these self-regulatory orders - the NBSA directions have been given approval indirectly by the Supreme Court also.

Datar concludes. 

Datar says there is a healthy mix of statutory and non-statutory guidelines.

Also, no prayer for the same in the petition.

Courts fastest remedy for aggrieved. Look what happened in the Sudarshan TV case. Court heard them and then stopped - I&B ministry continues to hear them while they did get a restraint order, says Datar

Datar says that apart from laying down contours of what constitutes Media Trial as per law commission reports and as per tenets of the Constitution, self regulation must not be meddled with.

Datar has also told the Court that before the Supreme Court as well, in a petition pending, (Reepak Kansal V. UOI), the Union has taken the stand that the Self-Regulation mechanism should continue & it has taken the same stand in the Sudarshan TV case.

Datar says that Self-regulation is the Rule.

Consequences of placing regulation before a Statutory Body instead of the current self-regulatory mechanism will have dire consequences, he adds.

Datar submits that a self-regulatory mechanism has gained approval of the SC, which says that despite shortcomings, this regime should not be disturbed as one part of the mechanism.