Srinagar Nov 16: Aryans College of Law, Rajpura, Chandigarh on Friday organized a seminar on “Fair Trial, Judiciary & Media: A need for Balance” at its campus.
Former Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court and Chairperson Haryana Human Rights Commission, Justice Vijender Jain was the chief guest on the occasion while Prof. D.N. Jauhar, Former Vice Chancellor, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra & Dr. Vijay Nagpal, Former Chairperson, Dept of Laws, Panjab University were the guests of honour.
Dr. Anshu Kataria, Chairman, Aryans Group presided over the function. SDM Rajpura, Shiv Kumar was also present on the occasion.
An official statement issued to GNS said the seminar was attended by hundreds of students of LL.B & BA-LL.B of Aryans College of Law. The function started with a lamp lighting ceremony and welcome prayer by the students.
Justice, Vijender Jain while speaking on the topic said the media is regarded as the fourth pillar of any democracy. He said an independent media is necessary for keeping a check on the government and its organs. “But with the increasing corporatization of media and the race to grab more eyeballs for higher numbers, the media is overstepping its boundaries which need to be regulated,” he said.
Prof. D.N. Jauhar discussed about media trial and professional ethics. He highlighted the role and importance of proper curriculum to ensure ethics in the students which he said is missing in the curriculum these days.
“Every individual presumed to be innocent till found guilty. Various media resources including press, TV, satellites, social media, internet etc present a refined and researched version of the story. To win the race, they have begun to publish and present what the ‘public is interested in’ rather than what is for the public interest,” he said.
Prof. Vijay Nagpal while speaking said that media has wide-ranging roles and plays a vital role in shaping the opinion of the society, “but like every other freedom and liberty, this freedom of speech and expression is also seen to be misused by the media”.
Every institution is liable to be abused, and every liberty, if left unbridled, has the tendency to become a license that would lead to disorder and anarchy, he said.
Nagpal further said that without an active media, the cries of the victims of brutal khap killings of Haryana would have gone unheard. Many other cases like the Arushi Murder Case, Jessica Lal Murder Case, Ruchika Girhotra Case and even the games played in IPL row was brought out into broad daylight because of the laudable efforts of media. This is certainly a very positive and welcome act from the part of the media, he said.
Prof. B.S Sidhu, Director, Aryans Group said that the responsibility of the media is greater than the responsibility of an individual because the media has a larger audience. The freedom of press should neither degenerate into a license to attack litigants and close the door of justice nor can it include any unrestricted liberty to damage the reputation of respectable persons, he said.
Steven Jawinda, Registrar, Aryans Group said that the media is now a full-fledged business. He said the present day trend in news reporting manifestly points out that journalism and ethics stand apart.
Journalists and media persons are supposed to be distinctive facilitators for the democratic process to function without hindrance, Jawinda said adding that the journalists and reporters are compelled to meet deadlines, satisfy media managers by meeting growing targets and so on.
Coupled with this there is also cut-throat competition between different media houses and newspaper organizations, he said. (GNS)
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