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A CRUDE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL MISADVENTURE THE INDIAN PRESS is reputed to enjoy a freedom that is enviable by the standards of the developing world. This freedom flows from Article 19 of the Indian Constitution and has been put on a pedestal by judicial interpretation. In the case of The Hindu, even as it celebrates the 125th anniversary of its birth, this freedom was outrageously and unconstitutionally violated on November 7 by a decision scripted by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, resolved in the name of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, and sought to be enforced by the police descending in a blatantly illegal and offensive manner on the offices of the newspaper as well as on the homes of four of its five senior management and editorial representatives whom the Assembly had sentenced to 15 days simple imprisonment. The persons targeted were S. Rangarajan, Publisher; N. Ravi, Editor; Malini Parthasarathy, Executive Editor; V. Jayanth, Associate Editor and Chief of the Tamil Nadu Bureau; and Radha Venkatesan, Special Correspondent. All this was done in the name of protecting the privileges of the Legislative Assembly. In this 125th year of its existence, The Hindu has reiterated its commitment to five guiding principles, including truth telling, freedom and independence, and justice. It is determined to expose the Jayalalithaa dispensation's grave misadventure factually and truthfully and to face the latest challenge to its freedom and independence and to the fundamental rights and personal liberties of five of its senior and valued representatives with every resource at its command. It has decided immediately to take the matter to court. Legislative privilege can be traced back to medieval Britain, when an emergent Parliament was struggling to defend itself against a powerful and dominant monarchy. It was never intended to be used as a crude instrument to threaten the independent media and trample on the fundamental right of free expression, which includes fair comment and criticism. The Tamil Nadu Assembly based its action on a total misreading of the Constitution, the law and the material facts of the case. The power of legislative privilege was aimed at strengthening the independent functioning of the legislature; it was certainly not meant to intimidate and stifle criticism and to create a `chilling effect' on the freedom of the press. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has had an unenviable history of wielding `sky-high' powers to punish editors and senior journalists for allegedly lowering the reputation of the House. Its latest decision, however, is unparalleled in the history of abuse of this power. The articles that earned the wrath of the Tamil Nadu Assembly's Privileges Committee, dominated by the AIADMK, were three news reports and an editorial titled " " published in April this year. Quite extraordinarily, the allegedly offensive portions in the reports were descriptive words such as "fumed", "incensed", "stinging", "diatribe", and "high-pitched tone" employed to give a feel of Ms. Jayalalithaa's speeches on a few occasions. As for the editorial, it was a well-reasoned and upstanding response to the decision to refer these reports to the Assembly's Privileges Committee. It made the important point that privilege must be invoked only when there is a material obstruction of the functioning of a legislature and that the power must not be used to insulate legislators against comments or criticism. The Privileges Committee's decision comes against the disturbing backdrop of a systematic attempt by the Jayalalithaa Government to harass and browbeat the independent press. Since the AIADMK came to power in May 2001, the Tamil Nadu Government has filed a large number of defamation cases, criminal and civil, against an array of publications. The Hindu faces 16 criminal defamation cases and one civil defamation suit, all of them completely baseless. The crude manner in which the State machinery attempted to enforce the Tamil Nadu Assembly's decision is evidence of the AIADMK Government's contempt for the free and independent media. The police first invaded The Hindu's Chennai headquarters with no arrest warrants to show when challenged by its Editor-in-Chief. They then returned with incomplete papers to conduct a search of the buildings despite assurances that those who they were looking for were not present on the premises. The Hindu has always respected the freedom, privileges and role of legislatures, which are vital institutions that need to be kept in good health in a democracy. Over the truly long term, this approach has earned the newspaper a reputation for even-handedness, fairness and accuracy. However, it will be a mistake to take this attitude and these traits as signs of weakness. This newspaper assures its readers and the nation at large that it will not be cowed down by authoritarian intolerance and the use of State power to subvert the freedom of the press and other fundamental rights. The Hindu www.hinduonnet.com Saturday, 8th Nov 2003 |
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| << November08, 2003 - [India Thinkers Net]APCLC President Kidnapped by the police |
November09, 2003 - [India Thinkers Net]Bill for better implementation of child rights >> |
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