SC lambasts news channels over 26/11 live coverage

New Delhi: Any attempt to justify the conduct of the news television channels for their live coverage of the terrorist attack in Mumbai on 26 November 2008 by citing the right to freedom of speech and expression would be totally wrong and unacceptable, the Supreme Court has said.

In its judgment confirming the death sentence of Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the court said ?the freedom of speech and expression, like all other freedoms under Article 19, is subject to reasonable restrictions.?

In a strong rebuke of the electronic media, Justices Aftab Alam and CK Prasad said ?an action tending to violate another person?s right to life guaranteed under Article 21 or putting the national security in jeopardy can never be justified by taking the plea of freedom of speech and expression?.

?It is beyond doubt that the way their (security forces) operations were freely shown made the task of the security forces not only exceedingly difficult but also dangerous and risky.?

?It is in such extreme cases that the credibility of an institution is tested. The coverage of the Mumbai terror attack by the mainstream electronic media has done much harm to the argument that any regulatory mechanism for the media must only come from within.?

The Judges said the shots and visuals that were shown live by the TV channels could have also been shown after all the terrorists were neutralised and the security operations were over. But in that case the TV programmes would not have had the ?same shrill, scintillating and chilling effect and would not have shot up the TRP ratings of the channels?.