The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought directions to the Central government and The Times of India to ensure that buyers of the newspaper receive complete copies along with all supplements. The Court questioned how a writ petition could be maintained against a private newspaper and advised the petitioner to resolve the issue with his newspaper vendor.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta refused to entertain the plea filed by petitioner G.S. Rathore, who had approached the Court seeking a direction that the English daily The Times of India should supply its complete edition, including all supplements, to readers purchasing the newspaper.
During the hearing, the bench raised a fundamental question about the maintainability of the petition. The judges asked how a writ could be issued against a private media organization such as The Times of India.
Questioning the legal basis of the petition, the Court observed:
“How does a writ lie against The Times of India? Is the Times of India a State so that we can entertain a writ petition against it?”
The bench indicated that since the newspaper is not a “State” under the Constitution, the Court could not exercise writ jurisdiction in such a matter.
Before dismissing the plea, the Court also advised the petitioner to address the issue directly with his newspaper vendor if he was not receiving the full set of supplements that accompany the daily.
The petition was consequently dismissed.
