Topic Of The Day:-“Poll-Time Censorship: On Gag Order Obtained By Bjp’s Tejasvi Surya”
The gag order obtained by a Bengaluru Lok Sabha candidate defies freedom of speech
The Bengaluru civil court’s blanket order restraining 49 newspapers, television channels and other media outlets from publishing anything ‘defamatory’ about Tejasvi Surya, the BJP’s candidate for the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency, is contrary to the law and the Constitution. The temporary injunction violates the basic principle in free speech law that bars ‘prior restraint’ or pre-censorship of any publication, including the media. As recently as in 2017, a Supreme Court Bench made it clear that pre-broadcast or pre-publication regulation of content was not in the court’s domain. In R. Rajagopal (1994), the court noted that there is no law that authorises prior restraint. The existence of a prima facie case is a precondition for an interim injunction, and arestraining order may be obtained only if some material deemed defamatory has been published, and when further publication ought to be prevented. Arraying print and electronic media outlets that had not previously disseminated anything defamatory about an individual fails this test, rendering any injunctions obtained against them illegal. Judge Dinesh Hegde’s order takes note of two factors in granting Mr. Surya’s request for an injunction: that some allegations against him surfaced after he filed his nomination papers, and “some defamatory messages” against him “are in transit” in the media. He cites a 1986 Karnataka High Court decision, but misses the point that the High Court’s justification for an injunction concerned an individual who had made publicutterances about the plaintiff, and it was not an omnibus order against a class of persons. In any case, there is enough case law from the Supreme Court to bar prior restraint orders.The allegations that have aggrieved Mr. Surya seem to originate in an individual’s opinion on him on Twitter. It is possible that this piece of information was or is likely to be used against him by his electoral rivals. However, this cannot be a reason for a public figure — and a candidate of a major political party, even a debutant, is definitely one — to claim a right to gag the entire media from writing about him. Even if the argument is that the order only prevents ‘defamatory’ content and not responsible reporting or criticism, that doesn’t justify a judicial gag order, as it may be used to prevent the media from writing anything adverse to his campaign. It may also preventdefendants in a future proceeding from using ‘publication of the truth in the public interest’ as a defence. Requests for omnibus restraining orders against media outlets seem to find favour with some civil judges in Karnataka. This newspaper itself faces in Karnataka around a hundred petitions for injunction filed by individuals and entities, most of them unlikely to be mentioned in its columns ever. The Karnataka High Court or the Supreme Court must examine this trend and strike down such blanket gag orders.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) contrary
Meaning : opposite in nature, direction, or meaning(adj).
Synonyms : antithetical
Antonyms : agreeable
Example : “he ignored contrary advice and agreed on the deal”
2) interim
Meaning : in or for the intervening period; provisional.
Synonyms : caretaker
Antonyms : finished
Example : “an interim arrangement”
3) restraining
Meaning : intended to keep someone under control or prevent someone from doing something.
Synonyms : forbidding
Example : “Cara put a restraining hand on his arm”
4) ought
Meaning : used to indicate duty or correctness, typically when criticizing someone’s actions(v).
Synonyms : requisite
Antonyms : unwanted
Example : “they ought to respect the law”
5) disseminated
Meaning : having spread throughout an organ or the body(adj).
Synonyms : disperse
Antonyms : conceal
Example : “symptoms vary from mild localized disease to severe disseminated infection”
6) injunction
Meaning : an authoritative warning or order.
Synonyms : mandate
Antonyms : allowance
7) concerned
Meaning : worried, troubled, or anxious(adj).
Synonyms : anxious
Antonyms : collected
Example : “the villagers are concerned about burglaries”
8) utterances
Meaning : a spoken word, statement, or vocal sound.
Synonyms : assertion
Antonyms : listening
Example : “he whispered, as if to lend his utterances an added confidentiality”
9) aggrieved
Meaning : feeling resentment at having been unfairly treated.
Synonyms : persecuted
Antonyms : comforted
Example : “they were aggrieved at the outcome”
10) rivals
Meaning : be or seem to be equal or comparable to.
Synonyms : competition
Antonyms : helper
Example : “he was a photographer whose fame rivalled that of his subjects”
11) debutant
Meaning : a man making his first public appearance, especially in sport.
Synonyms : newcomer
Example : “rarely in the history of the festival has a debutant director won the Palme d’Or”
12) defendants
Meaning : an individual, company, or institution sued or accused in a court of law.
Synonyms : litigant
Example : “the defendant tried to claim that it was self-defence”
