Supreme Court dismissed Times Now's special leave petition in a defamation case; IBF & NBA show concern

The channel had asked or relief against a Bombay High Court order that directed and ordered that Times Now should deposit Rs 200 million and furnish bank guarantee for Rs 800 million to hear an appeal in a defamation case.

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have strongly reacted over the impact of the recent dismissal by Supreme Court of the Special Leave Petition filed by Times Now.

Supreme Court dismissed Times Now's special leave petition in a defamation case; IBF & NBA show concern

The channel had asked or relief against a Bombay High Court order that directed and ordered that Times Now should deposit Rs 20 crore and furnish bank guarantee for Rs 80 crore to hear an appeal in a defamation case.

The directive has occurred following a district court in Pune asking the English channel to pay Rs 100 crore as damages in favour of Justice (Retd) PB Sawant for alleged defamation. The demafation case against Times Now was registered post the channel published the photograph of Justice Sawant in place of another Judge whose name was similar to that of Justice Sawant in connection with the Ghaziabad Provident Fund scam.

In regards to the same, Times Now had appealed to the High Court which stated that operation of the Rs 1 billion decree will be stayed only if Times Now deposits Rs 200 million in Court and secures the remaining Rs 800 million by a bank guarantee.

Expressing concern over the same, the IBF said, "We have been informed that conditions involving quantum of damages of this kind are unheard of in the history of defamation laws and effectively cripples the media's right to seek redressal by way of appeal. In a legal environment where awarding of exemplary and punitive damages are rarely seen, the trial court's decision definitely raises serious concerns as regards the media's freedom of speech and expression. This case is an example of how an unintentional and inadvertent error on the part of the media can result in onerous economical burden for itself, despite a public apology being tendered by Times Now."

Meanwhile, the NBA in a separate statement approved the views expressed recently in the media on the Justice Sawant - Times Now suit, wherein eminent members of the society, including jurists have said that in the larger interest of the constitutional guarantee of free speech, the decision should be revisited and reconsidered.

Meanwhile, the IBF said that the Media plays a very important role in protecting the fundamental rights of citizens and is often termed as the Fourth Pillar of Democracy. An independent, fearless and competitive media is an essential ingredient of a true democracy. Any curb on media independence is a threat to the democratic process and must be challenged. If stipulations such as these become the norm, news channels would be targeted at every instance, thereby affecting the survival and existence of this news industry. It also would challenge the democratic environment and the citizens' right to seek information.

The IBF also agreed with the recent views that have appeared in the media on this case, that such decisions should be reviewed and reconsidered. If media is compelled to pay up damages of such quantum, especially when a public apology has been issued for 'an inadvertent error', it would effectively cripple the functioning of the media and an economic burden of such nature would completely jeopardize media business as it directly impacts media freedom, independence and survival, the very essentials of a democratic set up in any country.

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