“Hoping no sedition case against channel showing dead body being thrown into river” – Justice Chandrachud
While hearing a suo moto COVID case, Justice DY Chandrachud made a remark regarding news channel showing dead body of a COVID patient being thrown into river body and asked whether any sedition case has been filed against the news channels or not.
Justice DY Chandrachud made this sarcastic statement while taking a dig at the number of sedition cases being registered against media.
The bench was hearing a suo moto COVID wherein the amicus curiae, Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora submitted that guidelines must be formulated for ensuring dignified treatment and handling of dead bodies.
After considering this suo moto COVID case, the bench took up petitions which had been filed by two Telugu news channels namely, TV5 and ABN Andhra-Jyoti, against the sedition case which had been registered by Andhra Pradesh police.
The Solicitor General reminded the bench about its order delivered in the month of April, 2021 wherein it directed that contempt cases should be taken up against the police officers who clampdown on citizens’ SOS calls on social media who were seeking COVID essentials.
The Apex Court stayed any sort of coercive action against the two news channels and observed that its high time that limit of sedition be defined. The bench further observed that there is a need to define the scope of offences prescribed under Sections 124A and 153A, which are sedition and promotion of communal hatred, respectively.
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