The Supreme Court of India, in a significant order, has directed all States to evolve an appropriate policy for media briefings by the police. The Bench, comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, disposed of the long-pending matters after accepting the “Police Manual for Media Briefing” prepared by the Amicus Curiae.
The Court has granted the States a period of three months to do the needful and directed the Registry to upload the manual on the Supreme Court website.
Background of the Case
The direction came in the case of Peoples Union for Civil Liberties & Anr. v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. and connected matters. The issue before the Court pertained to the guidelines and modalities to be followed by police personnel while briefing the media, particularly during ongoing investigations.
Senior Advocate Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appointed as the Amicus Curiae to assist the Court, undertook the task of preparing a comprehensive manual. The Court noted that the manual was prepared after considering the views of the Union of India and practices prevalent at the international level.
Observations and Analysis
The Bench placed on record its appreciation for the “laborious exercise undertaken by the learned Senior counsel Mr. Gopal Sankaranarayanan.”
However, the Court expressed dissatisfaction with the approach of the States regarding this issue. In its order, the Bench observed:
“Notwithstanding the time granted by this Court on earlier occasions, the States have not shown adequate interest in taking note of the Manual and doing the needful.”
The Court stated that it did not want to keep the matters pending any longer and deemed it appropriate to issue final directions.
Decision and Directions
The Supreme Court issued the following key directions:
- Formulation of Policy: The States are directed to evolve an appropriate policy for Media Briefing. In doing so, they must take into consideration the Police Manual for Media Briefing furnished by the Amicus Curiae.
- Timeline: The Court specified that the needful must be done within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.
- Public Access: The Supreme Court Registry has been directed to upload the Police Manual for Media Briefing on the Supreme Court Website within a period of two weeks.
The Court clarified that no further orders were required in the applications for interventions, and the appeals, writ petitions, and the contempt petition were disposed of accordingly.
