SC stops airing of Monica's obscene pics

New Delhi, Aug 24: The Supreme Court today directed Union Information&Broadcasting Ministry to restrain all TV channels from showing or telecasting some obscene photographs purportedly of starlet Monica Bedi.

The photographs were allegedly taken when she was lodged in Bhopal jail as an undertrial in a forged passport case.

Senior counsel KTS Tulsi told the Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan that a TV news channel had shown pictures of his client which amounted to outraging her modesty.

Mr Tulsi told the court, "It is a case of total misuse of freedom of press and TV channels must act with some sense of responsibility and if other channels also show the photographs then they will be committing a criminal offence." The Court also directed the petitioner to ammend her petition and implead all the TV channels as respondents in her petition.

Other judges on the Bench were Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice R V Ravindran.

When the Court wanted to know whether the petitioner has approched Information&Broadcasting Ministery before coming to this Court, Mr Tulsi responded by saying that it was an emergency situation and by the time she would have approched the Ministry, the damage would have been done.

As per petitioner her photographs were taken after fixing secret cameras in toilets in the jail. Earlier in the day Monica Bedi, a close aide of underworld don Abu Salem, was permitted to file an application in the Supreme Court seeking a directive to private television news channels not to show her photographs taken during her stay in the Bhopal jail, some of which, according to her, were morphed.

Mr Tulsi also contented that the Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Assembly had made a public statement alleging that the photographs were taken when she was in incarcenation in Bhopal jail and has demanded an inquiry into the incident.

The Apex Court also issued notices to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, State of Madhya Pradesh and Zee News.

UNI