(The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.)
The Supreme Court has weighed in on media's portrayal of minority communities, saying that maintaining the dignity of a community was just as important as journalistic freedom. This observation came in the case over Sudarshan TV's plan to air a programme alleging Muslim infiltration of the civil services and accusing some Muslim organisations of facilitating the entry of people with terror links. The I&B Ministry had given its green light for the show, but SC stayed its airing. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, heading the 3-judge Bench hearing the case, said that while the court was not against the journalistic freedom to investigate, it drew a line at implicating a community. The justice said that human dignity was just as important as national security. The Bench, however, noted that staying a show before it was telecast was an unhealthy step. Justice Chandrachud said that the court's intervention was necessitated by the weak self-regulatory mechanism for media in India. The nature of the allegations in the Sudarshan TV segment, and the blatantly communal way in which it had been promoted are what took this issue all the way to the Supreme Court. The court's observations on it — especially on human dignity paralleling national security — are what make this story important. |
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