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The Indian Journalists Union and three of its members who have been nominated to the Press Council of India (PCI) have criticised Chairperson Justice (retd) CK Prasad’s attempt to intervene in a plea seeking an end to restrictions on the media in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Scroll.in, Indian Journalists Union President and Press Council of India member D Amar, IJU Secretary General and International Federation of Journalists Vice President Sabina Inderjit, and two Press Council members, Balwinder S Jammu and M Majid have released a statement saying that the chairperson of PCI should have consulted the other members of the council before writing to the SC.
The move, according to the union, undermined the credibility of the PCI and went against the primary aim of the institution, which is to protect the freedom of press, the report said.
Balwinder Jammu told Scroll.in that the chairperson did not inform the council of his decision to file this petition, despite the fact that it went completely against what the rest of the council wanted. The council had reportedly wanted to pass a resolution “seeking the government to withdraw the communication restrictions and allow free coverage in Jammu and Kashmir”.
"The main issue is that this is not PCI's considered view to move the application. Before moving the application, PCI was not taken into confidence. Chairman says it was matter of urgency that it why it was done. But the problem is that there was a meeting on August 22, but it was brought up there," Press Council member Jaishankar Gupta told PTI.
Media bodies such as the Indian Women's Press Corps and the Press Association described the PCI's move to approach the Supreme Court as a "unilateral action".
The IWPC, in a statement, said it condemns the "unilateral action" of the PCI chairman, Justice Prasad, in seeking intervention on behalf of the PCI in a writ petition filed by Kashmir Times executive editor Anuradha Bhasin in the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, there will be a joint meeting of media bodies such as IWPC, Press Association and Press Club of India to discuss the media scenerio in Kashmir and PCI's intervention is the Supreme Court is also likely to come up.
The Press Council of India had written to the Supreme Court seeking permission to intervene in a petition by Kashmir Times executive editor Anuradha Bhasin, which seeks an end to the restrictions on media in Jammu and Kashmir in the light of the abrogation of Article 370.
The statutory body, in its appeal, said the restrictions were “in the interest of the integrity and sovereignty of the nation”.
On 10 August, Bhasin filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the communication blackout in Jammu and Kashmir post the abrogation of Article 370. The petition seeks:
To make its point stronger, the PCI’s petition points to the Norms of Journalistic Conduct framed by the council.
Many other journalists also took to Twitter to express their disappointment in the Press Council of India.
(With Inputs From The Wire, PTI and Scroll. in.)
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