Media has to work under parametres : legal expert

Media has to perform its duty within certain restrictions to avoid any contempt of court, noted law expert Navin Sinha said here today.
"There is no special principle attached to the press to comment, criticize or investigate the facts of any case... No editor has a right to assume the role of investigator to try to prejudice the court against any person," he said while addressing an orientation programme on media rights and legal services at Arunachal Press Club (APC) here this morning.
Sinha is the Assistant Professor of Arunachal Law Academy (ALA).
The orientation programme was conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority (APSLSA) in coordination with APC for the scribes of the state.

APSLSA member secretary Budi Habung while highlighting the various facilities of the authority, informed that so far the SLSA conducted 283 awareness campaigns besides providing legal aids to 446 persons and had settled 3,411 pending cases through Lok Adalat.
He further informed that since its inception in 1998 to November this year, an amount of Rs 1.67 crore has been paid as compensation to victims of any violence.
"The APSLSA has been providing free legal aid through counseling, assistance in the conduct of any cases and disputes, organizing Lok Adalats, settling matrimonial disputes, spreading legal awareness on issues of social and legal importance besides rendering free legal aid to the prisoners and UTPs," he disclosed.

He said cases like defamation, malicious prosecution, contempt of court proceedings, election disputes and cases involving economic offences and social laws were not under the purview of availing legal aid.