Presented to:

CS Mayank Singh Panwar

Presented by:
Jyoti Gusain
Pillars of Democracy
 Meaning of Trial by Media
ØTrial by media is a phrase used to describe the impact of
television and newspaper coverage on a person’s reputation
by creating a widespread perception of guilt regardless of
any verdict in a court of law.
ØArticle 19 of the Constitution gives Freedom of speech and
Expression.
ØThe Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 defines contempt by
identifying it as civil and criminal.
ØCriminal contempt has further been divided into three
types :
• Scandalizing
• Prejudicing trial
• Hindering the administration of justice
ØTrial is essentially a process to be carried out by the courts.
ØMedia does a separate investigation, builds up a public
opinion against the accused even before the court takes
cognizance of the case. By this way, it prejudices the public
and sometimes even judges and as a result the accused is
presumed criminal and is devoid of all his right and liberty.
ØMedia completely overlooks the vital gap between an
accused and convict keeping at stake the golden principles
of presumption of innocence until proven guilty and guilt
beyond reasonable doubt.
ØMedia has become a 'Public Court' (Janta Adalat) and has
started interfering into court proceedings.
 On
Witness

On
On
Public
Accused Impact
of Media
Trials

On
Judges
 Priyadarshini Mattoo Case

ØMurder in January, 1996.

ØLower Court let the perpetrator, her stalker, her murderer off
in its judgement in 1999.
ØAppeal to High Court filed in 2000.
ØTill 2006, the case had no hearings.
ØDue to Jessica Lal Case came into public scrutiny.
ØCase was took up on a day-to-day hearing and judgement
was reached in 42 days and the accused was awarded death
penalty
ØMedia plays a vital role in moulding the opinion of the
society.
ØMedia is there to raise public issues, report news and facts
but not to pass judgements.
ØHeinous crimes must be condemned.
ØSteps need to be taken in order to prevent media trials from
eroding the civil rights of citizens.
ØThe media has to be properly regulated by the courts.
ØOne's life with dignity gets higher priority over other's right
to freedom of speech and expression.
Any Queries