SC dismisses petition against obscene pictures in newspapers

New Delhi, Dec 12 (UNI) The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition against obscene pictures in newspapers and asked the government to seriously look into the request made by the Press Council of India (PCI) to amend the section concerned and make appropriate amendments in public interest.

The suggestion of the apex court came while dismissing a PIL seeking directions to the government to regulate newspaper industry especially the Hindustan Times and The Times of India, two leading English dailies published from Delhi, in order to check the publication of obscene and objectionable photos and pictures which have an adverse effect on the impressionable minds of youngsters especially teenagers.

A bench comprising Justices A R Lakshmanan and Tarun Chatterjee while dismissing the petition of an advocate Ajay Goswami bserved,"We are of the view that culture of 'responsible reading' should be inculcated among the readers of any news article. No news item should be viewed or read in isolation, it is necessary thatr publication must be judged as a whole and news items, advertisements, or passages should not be read without accompanying message that is purported to be conveyed to the public. Also the members of public and readers should not look for meanings in a picture or written article, which is not conceived to be conveyed through the picture or the news item." Referring to the judgment of American Supreme Court in United states vs Playboy Entertainment Group, the apex court concluded, "Therefore in our view in the present matter, the petitioner has failed to establish his case clearly. The petitioner only states that the pictures and the news items that are published by the respondents 3 and 4 leave much for the thoughts of the minors.

Therefore, we believe that fertile imagination of anybody especially of minors should not be a matter that should be agitated in the court of law. Any hyper sensitive person may subscribe to other newspapers of their choice, which might not be against the standards of morality of the person concerned as the news is not limited only to Times of India and Hindustan Times." The petitioner had earlier pleaded before the court to direct the government to strike a balance between the freddom of expression enjoyed by the press and the duty of the government being a signatory to the UN convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 and to the declaration of Human Rights to protect the vulnerable minors from abuse, exploitation and harmful effects of such expression.

UNI AKS/SC RP KN1858