New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government Friday batted for press freedom and said dissemination of facts by the media, even though they may appear to be offensive or distasteful to certain individuals or sections of the society, cannot be curtailed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) opposed a batch of petitions alleging that a section of the media was spreading communal hatred over the Nizamuddin Markaz event in March.
The petitioners wanted the top court to lay down guidelines on curbing fake news.
One of the petitioners include Jamiat-Ulema-i-Hind, an organisation of Islamic scholars belonging to Deobandi school of thought.
The government also denied that media reports linking Covid-19 cases to the congregation were fake. Attacks on health workers by some sections after the event were all matters of fact that cannot be censored, the government noted.
Censure of news, as sought by the petitioners, would be contrary to and an anathema to free speech guaranteed by the Constitution, said the government. It would not only impinge but also abrogate the right to know about facts related to the Markaz event, and a journalist’s right to keep the public informed, the affidavit further stated.
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‘Can’t rely on fact-check portals’
The Modi government called for dismissal of all petitions, saying they made allegations in general and failed to give specific instances of objectionable news.
Grievances were raised by the petitioners against certain media organisations without naming them, the government said. While the petitioners expressed dissatisfaction over some reports, none of those were pointed out before the court, it added.
The central government also said assertions made without evidentiary backing cannot form the basis of a petition.
The petitioners had relied upon “fact-check news reports” to contend that the media was “perpetrating communal disharmony and hatred towards Muslims”, the government submitted. It also cautioned the apex court against giving credence to such fact-check reports and voiced doubts over their veracity.
“It is submitted that these ‘online fact-check portals’ are unregulated websites and mostly based on perception, conjecture, surmises and suppositions of the individual writing them,” the affidavit notes.
‘News reports were exaggerated but not fake’
The government also said that some reports “may be exaggerated” but none of them was either fake or false.
The I&B ministry said “attempts to seek a blanket ‘gag order’ against the entire media” will effectively destroy freedom of the citizen to know about affairs of respective sections of the society.
Only fake and false news do not enjoy constitutional protection of free speech, said the government, as it cited instances where prosecution has been launched in individual cases of false reporting too. Action was taken to remove or block 739 URLs and four accounts that spread misinformation on the virus that could lead to communal disharmony.
Also read: Foreigners from Tablighi event won’t be charged with culpable homicide: Delhi Police to court
Yes Markaz event was supere spreader of coronavirus but not only for India,
Malaysia and many other countries re also affected from this event.
But there is a big fault of government,
Because after Malaysia incident,
They got a clue and can force them cancel the event,
But government didn’t care or was not aware about it.
Corona Jihad term was termed by Maullana saadh and even we didn’t found him after passing so months
As international flights, and interstate travel was not permitted,
At that time it was very easy to catch him
But government had never tried to trace him
Is it fault of those innocent Indian muslim they were even not knowing about it,
Even this was planned by foreigners to divide Indians based on religion.
Indian Muslim never support such incidence
As government prohibited all the international flights how a comman devotee will get to know that a infected patient is between them
Yes I agree term corona Jihad exist
But Still Indian Muslim’s re innocent they were not knowing about the incident happened before in Malaysia & Pakistan