Summary
The Supreme Court directed the Union Home Ministry to prepare comprehensive guidelines for police media briefings during criminal investigations. The policy must balance the public’s right to fair information with unbiased investigation, the presumption of innocence, privacy and dignity of accused persons, victims and survivors. Police disclosures should remain objective and avoid prejudging guilt or causing a media trial. The Court required consultation and a completion deadline, while retaining the proceedings for further consideration.
Issues
- How police media briefings during investigation should balance public information with fair-process, privacy and dignity interests.
- What process and timetable should govern preparation of a comprehensive policy.
Provisions considered
- Articles 19(1)(a) and 21, Constitution of IndiaThe right to disseminate and receive fair information must be balanced against fair investigation, the presumption of innocence, privacy and dignity. Those competing rights inform the required police-media policy. (¶¶ 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 17, 18)
Held
- The present order concerns pre-trial police media briefings, while the police-encounter investigation issue had been dealt with in the earlier 2014 judgment. The public and media have legitimate informational interests, but reporting can prejudice investigation and the accused’s presumption of innocence and dignity. (¶¶ 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 12)
- Victim and survivor interests, including minors’ privacy, gender-violence concerns and dignity in death, must inform disclosure. A uniform institutional policy does not require identical disclosure in every case: the crime and stakeholders’ profiles affect what can appropriately be released. (¶¶ 8, 9, 17)
- Police briefings should convey an objective official version rather than subjective judgments of guilt. Safeguards must prevent disclosures from derailing investigation or creating a media trial that influences evidence and its assessment. (¶¶ 17, 18)
- All Directors General of Police must send suggestions within one month. The Home Ministry must consider those suggestions, consult stakeholders including print and electronic media organisations, take account of the NHRC’s views, and complete the guidelines by 31 December 2023. The amicus’s proposals supplied input for formulation, rather than a separately enacted final manual. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
Result
Directions issued for preparation and consultation on police media-briefing guidelines by 31 December 2023, with copies to the amicus and NHRC counsel. Proceedings listed in the second week of January 2024; no final disposal.