• Has contempt of court procedures
• CJP Isa says ‘fake news’ always overshadows the truth
• The court has already accepted Vawda and Kamal’s apologies
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled on contempt proceedings against 34 television channels by accepting their unconditional apologies after the media outlets pledged to air their regrets during prime time.
The TV channels are also required to broadcast six paragraphs of the June 28 order in which the court issued them notices of injunction. The owners or senior executives of the media houses attended the proceedings in Courtroom No. 1. Among them, 26 senior executives were represented by Faisal Siddiqui.
A four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa took up the contempt case against 34 television channels for broadcasting Senator Faisal Vawda and MP Mustafa Kamal’s outburst against the judiciary in separate press conferences.
On June 28, the court quashed the contempt of court notices against the two lawmakers after accepting their apologies.
On Thursday, the court was bitter when it questioned why damaging clips from the press conferences had been replayed multiple times while apologies made in court had been suppressed.
In its order, the court noted that the TV channels had also assured that they would not repeat such a mistake in future and would honour their commitment.
The lawyer also assured the court that television channels would not only broadcast the apology during prime time but would also mention six paragraphs of the June 28 order in which formal notices were issued to them.
Deputy Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman referred to the 1996 Khalid Masood case in which the principle of contempt of court was determined, but highlighted the glorious tradition of courts which, after receiving unconditional apologies, have always shown mercy by forgiving the perpetrators of the contempt and have always considered the apology as a mitigating circumstance.
Pakistan Broadcasting Association Chairman Shakeel Masood Hussain informed the court about the self-accountability mechanism and the filtering process before relaying the information.
Faisal Siddiqui said that improvements would be made to improve or develop a system if the channels lacked self-responsibility or were deficient in the mechanism to ensure that the reporting was correct and not defamatory.
The CJP questioned the need to provide training to YouTubers on how to become a good journalist by adhering to standards of morality and dignity.
“As the 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal approaches,” the CJP observed, “we should at least learn by following the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”
He regretted the general environment of hatred that was created in society by repeatedly inviting individuals who misbehaved and displayed bad behavior on talk shows to present sensationalism only for the sake of ratings.
The dissemination of “lies” without verifying the veracity of the information or the insults hurled against all the institutions of the country have destroyed the very fabric of the society, the CJP regretted, adding that fake news always overshadowed the truth.
CJP Isa also lamented the new trend of television channels competing with unbridled social networks, whose sole aim is to make dollars. “Is this the kind of country we want?” he asked.
“Arrogance is also on the rise and everyone knows everything,” the CJP lamented, adding that the media by adhering to the truth would only gain strength as it is the fourth pillar of the state to control the judiciary, parliament and government.
Published in Dawn, September 13, 2024
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