Privacy and the Media: A Critical Analysis
PRIVACY AND THE MEDIA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Sahina Mumtaz Laskar
2nd Semester; LL.M.
Department of Law
Assam University, Silchar
“There are laws to protect the freedom of press, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press”………………Mark Twain. The media in India enjoys a great deal of freedom and when it is threatened, the response is vociferous. Nevertheless, there is the need to maintain a balance between free expression and other community and individual rights; hence this responsibility should not be borne by the judiciary alone, but by all those who enjoy these rights.
The strength and importance of media in a democracy is well recognized. It plays the role of a conscious keeper, a watchdog of the functionaries of society and attempts to attend to the wrongs in our system, by bringing them to the knowledge of all, hoping for correction. It is indisputable that in many dimensions the unprecedented media revolution has resulted in great gains for the general public. Even the judicial wing of the state has benefited from the ethical and fearless journalism and taken suo motu cognizance of the matters in various cases after relying on their reports and news highlighting grave violations of human rights. The criminal justice system in this country has many lacunae which are used by the rich and powerful to go scot-free. Figures speak for themselves in this case as does the conviction rate in our country which is abysmally low at 4 percent. In such circumstances the media plays a crucial role in not only mobilizing public opinion but bringing to light injustices which most likely would have gone unnoticed otherwise.
The Indian media enjoys two fold protections under the Constitution, in the form of Article 19(1) (a) [freedom of free speech and expression] and Article 19(1) (g) [freedom to engage in any profession, occupation, trade or business]. In today’s world, it is
Sahina Mumtaz Laskar
2nd Semester; LL.M.
Department of Law
Assam University, Silchar
“There are laws to protect the freedom of press, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press”………………Mark Twain. The media in India enjoys a great deal of freedom and when it is threatened, the response is vociferous. Nevertheless, there is the need to maintain a balance between free expression and other community and individual rights; hence this responsibility should not be borne by the judiciary alone, but by all those who enjoy these rights.
The strength and importance of media in a democracy is well recognized. It plays the role of a conscious keeper, a watchdog of the functionaries of society and attempts to attend to the wrongs in our system, by bringing them to the knowledge of all, hoping for correction. It is indisputable that in many dimensions the unprecedented media revolution has resulted in great gains for the general public. Even the judicial wing of the state has benefited from the ethical and fearless journalism and taken suo motu cognizance of the matters in various cases after relying on their reports and news highlighting grave violations of human rights. The criminal justice system in this country has many lacunae which are used by the rich and powerful to go scot-free. Figures speak for themselves in this case as does the conviction rate in our country which is abysmally low at 4 percent. In such circumstances the media plays a crucial role in not only mobilizing public opinion but bringing to light injustices which most likely would have gone unnoticed otherwise.
The Indian media enjoys two fold protections under the Constitution, in the form of Article 19(1) (a) [freedom of free speech and expression] and Article 19(1) (g) [freedom to engage in any profession, occupation, trade or business]. In today’s world, it is