No Ban on Journalists from attending and reporting Court Proceedings - Kerala High Court
THE Kerala High Court has clarified that there is no ban imposed on the Journalists from attending and reporting Court Proceedings. The Committee to formulate Code for the Press and Electronic Media in relation to Reporting of Court Proceedings will look into the issue of framing guidelines to provide prompt and easy access for the Journalists to judgments and orders which are pronounced and issued.
The High Court however added that taking into account the requirements to insulate the Chamber and Office of each Judge and attached Staff, including Private Secretaries and Personal Assistants, the individual Judges will be at liberty to decline access to any person to their Chambers and the Office of the Private Secretaries and Personal Assistants.
Now, should judges allow journalists into their chambers? If journalists are allowed to meet judges in their chambers to get judgements explained to, will it not result in chaos?
But then should judges refuse to meet journalists? A retired CESTAT Member told me an interesting incident. "A CESTAT Member refused to meet an eminent Tax journalist after making him wait for quite some time. Later, the journalist ran a public tirade against the Member and continued it till he retired. So, learning from this experience, I would meet anyone who wanted to meet me."
The journalist proclaimed that his missiles had nothing to do with his being denied an audience by the Member and the Member strongly believed that there was no better reason for the journalist to denigrate him.
But a judgement has life only when it is reported and you need reporters for that. Justice Raghuram once said that it scares a judge that no one is there to look at his judgement and what he says is the law.