(Image source from: Curtailing media from covering the sensitive areas)

Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, while delivering the first JS Verma Memorial lecture in New Delhi, came across the media action of invading into the privacy of individuals and asked the media to control its own speculations and judgments. Media should maintain some sort of integrity and fairness, he linked the Sunanda Pushkar’s death case and projections in media.

"Privacy of individuals even in high profile cases is part of their right," Jaitley said, adding, "What was the relationship between a husband and wife, what was the kind of conversation they were having, these are areas which have absolutely no bearing on larger public interest and can only add some spice to the content of reporting," the minister said.

While speaking about the regulation on media, the age of ban on media firms was over and now it is impossible to restrict due to technology. 

The Home Ministry had asked the I&B Ministry to make amendments to existing rules so that live coverage of anti-terror operations by television channels is prohibited. "The media has the responsibility to be fair and maintain the biggest standard of integrity.

His points on the media revolves around the censorship of the content which media is projecting, media should not be over smart in reporting the terror or insurgency operations, because that will lead to disturb the military and security forces work and plan. Compare 9/11 vs 26/11, Pakistan handlers were being told about the location of security forces. 

His remarks on curtailing the media’s responsibility can be done to certain extent in the interest of integrity and security of the nation but there is anarchical and autocratic problem may emerge if the government fully takes opportunity to ban the media from covering public interest incidents which are problematic to the government. 

AW: Kannamsai