Press Council of India urges Centre to introduce law to protect journalists
The media body adopted a report on arrests and wrongful detention of journalists in the country.
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The Press Council of India has adopted a report urging the Union government to introduce a national law for the security and protection of journalists.
The report – Arrests, Wrongful Detentions and Intimidation of Media Personnel – on the arrests and wrongful detention of journalists in the country has been authored by Press Council member Gurbir Singh. It was adopted by the council on September 27 and a copy was shared with Scroll on Thursday.
The report was adopted with a dissent note from its chairperson, former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai.
The Press Council is a statutory, adjudicating body established in 1966 and operates as per the provisions of the Press Council Act, 1978.
The report makes three broad recommendations to the Union government, the foremost being “the need to promulgate a national law for the security and protection of journalists”.
It also asks that “more teeth” be given to the Press Council of India Act “so that the watchdog body is better equipped to meet the increasing challenges and threats faced by the Fourth Estate”.
The Press Council currently can only issue advisory orders that are not enforceable. These do not work as deterrents for unscrupulous elements who may want to browbeat or intimidate press persons, Singh said in the report.
The report also calls...
