[Reader-list] 'Case for classification of dailies based on content'

[shivam]

Case for classification of dailies based on content  
 
New Delhi, (PTI) 
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/aug182005/update1238432005818.asp

Supreme Court today issued notices to the Centre, Press Council of
India, the news agencies and major dailies on a PIL seeking
classification of newspapers on the basis of their content to denote
whether these were fit to be read universally or by adults only.

Should newspapers be classified on the basis of sexually explicit
material contained in them similar to censor board categorising films
for viewers? The PIL raising this question was today taken up for
hearing by the Supreme Court. A Bench comprising Chief Justice R C
Lahoti, Justice G P Mathur and Justice P K Balasubramanyan issued
notices to the Centre, Press Council of India, news agencies - PTI and
UNI, and leading dailies 'Times of India' and 'Hindustan Times'.

The PIL filed by one Ajay Goswami stated that with the advent of
commercialism and the competition among newspapers to increase their
circulation, "numerous attempts are being made to cater to purient
interest of the public at large".
 

"The newspapers are publishing titillating material in the form of SMS
jokes, articles on pronography, sex education (which at times is more
pornography than education), comments on porn magazines or movies in
addition to semi-nude photographs," the petitioner said and pleaded
that there was an urgent need to protect the minors from their bad
influence.

While supporting the the right to freedom of speech and expression
enjoyed by the media, the petitioner said there was an urgent need to
frame rules and regulations to shield minors from these pornographic
literature circulated by newspapers.

"The Union of India and the Press Council of India have failed to
frame any rules and regulations on this aspect," it said and sought a
direction for framing of appropriate Rules and Regulations in this
regard.

The PIL also requested the apex Court to direct the Centre to
constitute an expert Committee to look into the problem of unwanted
exposure of sexually explicit material to the minor through the media
and lay down rules and regulations for the same.

It said that it was the duty of the Government to protect the minors
from such exposure to unwanted material circulated through media as it
was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child, 1989 and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Both the charters had got a pledge from the countries to protect the
vulnerable minors from abuse, exploitation and harmful effects of
"such experssion" by media, the PIL said.

"The compelling interest is to protect the physical and psychological
well-being of minors from the influence of literature, which is not
obscene from the adult point of view," the PIL stated.

It said though the Press Council of India came into existence 27 years
ago, it had not even thought of framing rules and regulations for
improving the standards of newspapers and news agencies.

"The PCI has laid down from time to time principles and ethics to be
observed by the journalists, which are directive in nature, incomplete
and even otherwise do not deal with the issue of protecting minors,"
it said.

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