Freedom
of Press
R
Srinivasan
Two centuries ago,
Thomas Jefferson said “If a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a
state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be. The
functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty
& property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but
with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information.
Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe[1].”
Freedom of the Press is
a pillar that holds the citadel of democracy aloft. Together with a fair
judiciary, democracy in a country can survive when these two pillars hold its
platform. The noble ideals of freedom of expression are enshrined in Article 19
(1) of the Indian Constitution. While Art 19 (1) does not specifically refer to
freedom of press, it enjoins freedom of speech and expression. In his debate
while tabling the draft constitution in the Indian parliament, Dr BR Ambedkar
is stated to have said that under this Article, an individual or citizen or the
press enjoys this freedom; therefore a separate provision for the press is not
necessary. While adjudicating two of the hallmark cases[2] on
press freedom, the Supreme Court of India in 1950, held that “Freedom of speech
and of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organization, for
without free political discussion no public education, so essential for the
proper functioning of the process of popular government, is possible”.
Studying over 200
countries to construct a methodology to evaluate good governance (Worldwide
Governance Indicators-WGI), Koffman & Kray[3]
came out with six parameters. The first among them was Voice and
Accountability, including a free media. World Bank since 1999, has been using
the six indicators developed by Koffman & Kray to assess a country’s
eligibility for development assistance.
Beginning with the
philosophy expounded by Thomas Jefferson to the economic indicators developed
by World Bank, it is evident that freedom of the press is an implicit
requirement for a democracy to remain a democracy and also to obtain the
end-purpose of a democratic system – development of a healthy political society.
Seen from these
perspectives, the editorial in Indian Express today (13 June 2019) draw
attention to the necessity for any democracy to evaluate the approach of its
institutions towards the press. Even USA, although the oldest democracy in the
world, has been accused of journalistic restrictions. Elsewhere, as in Egypt
where for two years Al Jazeera[4]
has mobilized public opinion against the imprisonment of its correspondent. Former
communist bloc countries in any case never enjoyed any good word on
journalistic freedoms. In the report of the Reporters without Borders for 2018,
Norway ranks as 1st, UK 40th, USA 45th, Japan
67th, France 33rd, India ranks 138th and China
176th, out of 180 countries[5].
While such surveys may not be the final determinants of freedom of press, they
certainly indicate the long way that we need to go before people can actually
consider themselves free – from fear of expression.
Is journalistic freedom
without limits? Bernard Shaw famously said, “Liberty means responsibility. That
is why most men dread it”. United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is
considered to be the mother document of all freedoms in international parlance.
Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of United States when FDR was the president,
is considered the foremost inspirations behind UDHR. She made an eloquent
statement about freedom when she said: “Freedom makes a huge requirement of
every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is
unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight,
this is a frightening prospect”. It is evident from these statements that
freedom of the press also comes with a responsibility – the responsibility
towards the society. The Supreme Court of India, while delivering its judgment
on Harijai Singh & Anr vs In
Re: Vijay Kumar on 17 September, 1996, made an important statement. It said, “The
freedom of Press is regarded as ‘the mother of all other liberties' in a
democratic society. Further, the importance and the necessity of having a free
press in a democratic Construction like ours was immensely stressed in several
landmark judgments of this Court. The case of Indian Express Newspaper v. Union of India[6],
is one of such judgments rendered by Venkataramiah, J. (as he then was). Again
in another case of Indian Express
Newspaper v. Union of India[7].
A.P. Sen J. (as he then was) described the right to freedom of the press as a
pillar of individual liberty which has been unfailingly guarded by the Courts”.
Having upheld the freedom of the press as fundamental to democracy, the Supreme
Court in Y.V. Hanumantha Rao v. K.R. Pattabhiram and Anr[8],
debated trial by media. Commenting on the limits to freedom of press, it observed:
“ …… When litigation is pending before a Court,
no one shall comment on it in such a way there is a real and substantial danger
of prejudice to the trial of the action, as for instance by influence on the
Judge, the witnesses or by prejudicing mankind in general against a party to
the cause. Even if the person making the comment honestly believes it to be
true, still it is a contempt of Court if he prejudices the truth before it is
ascertained in the proceedings. To this general rule of fair trial one may add
a further rule and that is that none shall, by misrepresentation or otherwise,
bring unfair pressure to bear on one of the parties to a cause so as to force
him to drop his complaint or defence. It is always regarded as of the first
importance that the law which we have just stated should be maintained in its
full integrity. But in so stating the law we must bear in mind that there must
appear to be ‘a real and substantial danger of prejudice.”
It is evident that the
stated legal position and the intellectual disposition is clear: Freedom of
Press comes with conditions that aim to strengthen citizens’ right to
information. At the same time, the reporting by the press should adhere to
moral and ethical standards that do not in any manner adversely affect the moral,
social and political health of the society. The Ethical Journalism Network[9] summarizes
the responsibilities of the press into five principles: Truth & Accuracy,
Independence, Fairness & Impartiality, Humanity and, Accountability. Simple
as they may sound, these five principles are the essence and will remain the
foundations of Freedom of Press.
[1] The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement
Series, Volume 9: 1 September 1815 to 30 April 1816
[2] Romesh
Thaper vs State of Madras, A.I.R. 1950 SC 124; Brij Bhushan vs State of Delhi,
A.I.R. 1950 SC 129; 1950 SCR 605.
[6] 1985(1)
SCR 641
[7] AIR
1986 SC 872
[8] AIR1975
AP 30
