The Madras High Court rejected a plea asking the government to issue guidelines to regulate media reporting on aviation accidents. The court dismissed the petition saying no such directions can be given.
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CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on 31st July dismissed a petition that had asked for strict guidelines to be issued to control media reporting after aviation accidents.
The case was heard by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice MM Shrivastava and Justice Sunder Mohan, who dismissed the plea without giving any directions to the concerned authorities.
The petition was filed by Advocate M Pravin from Coimbatore. He wanted the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to frame clear guidelines or advisories to prevent irresponsible reporting by media immediately after an aviation accident.
The petitioner argued that after such accidents, the media often spreads unverified information and blames pilots or staff without waiting for the official investigation. This, according to him, harms not only the professional reputation of the deceased but also causes extreme distress to their families.
The plea stated,
“Baseless allegations and speculative narratives disseminated posthumously amount to reputational defamation of the deceased and cause avoidable emotional trauma to bereaved families.”
Advocate Pravin also highlighted the tragic Air India accident of June 12 at Ahmedabad, where news reports allegedly blamed pilots even before authorities could complete their official inquiry.
He argued that such unverified reporting damages the professional dignity of pilots, reduces public trust in aviation safety, and interferes with the integrity of formal investigation processes.
The petition also mentioned that a detailed representation was already sent by the petitioner on July 14 to the Civil Aviation Ministry, DGCA, and MeitY. However, the petitioner claimed that no concrete action had been taken by the authorities on this issue.
The petition further argued that such unregulated media reporting is a violation of the fundamental rights given under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21 of the Indian Constitution.
- The petitioner was represented in court by a legal team of Advocates T Priyanka, Z Imran, K Arun Goutham, T Ragul, and N Dharshini.
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