SC asks Kerala journalists to raise the issue of media room before HC

The Supreme Court today disposed of a plea filed by the Kerala Union of Working Journalist (KUWJ) to open a media room at the Kerala High Court, which was closed down in 2016 after a stand-off between lawyers and journalists.

A bench of Justices A M Sapre and U U Lalit said no purpose will be served by keeping the petition pending before the apex court and a similar petition was pending before the high court. A full bench of the High Court had earlier referred the matter to its five-judge bench.

The top court took note of the submissions made by Kerala High Court Advocates Association (KHCAA), an intervenor in the matter.

The court was hearing a plea seeking reopening of the Kerala High Court media room, which was closed in July 2016 after a bitter stand-off between the lawyers and journalists.

The issue had come up when an allegedly incorrect report appeared in a newspaper regarding the proceedings of a meeting of the KHCAA, which had passed a unanimous resolution condemning police atrocity on a lawyer.

A daily had reported that the said meeting was deferred due to differences of opinion.

The lawyers had alleged that when this was pointed out, they were verbally abused and that had led to a scuffle between lawyers and the scribes.

The High Court Registrar had later ordered the closure of the media room.

The KUWJ had filed the petition in apex court contending that the situation in the High Court was hostile to mediapersons and the closure of the room had affected their smooth functioning.

The High Court had later formulated guidelines for reporting of the court proceedings.