PR/5/06-07-PCI 21.07.2006

Press Council censures Punjab Kesari, Delhi and Times of India, Pune for violation of norms of journalistic conduct.

On the complaint of Shri Bharat B.Jain, Mumbai, the Press Council of India has censured Mid Day, Gujarati daily newspaper for publication of the photographs of the complainant along with that of his wife with a caption with reference to the involvement of his brother-in-law in an alleged financial fraud. The Council was of the view that the publication of the photographs of the complainant and his wife, had no relevance to the news report and was thus in violation of the norm of Journalistic conduct.

The Council also censured Punjab Kesari, Delhi on two separate complaints of DAV College Trust & Managing Society. The complainant alleged in his complaints that the respondent had published a series of baseless, misleading, fabricated and defamatory news items for the last two years. The Council felt that the newspaper violated the norms of journalistic ethics regarding pre-publication verification and defamatory writings and most basic journalistic ethics of not using the columns of the newspapers to settle personal scores.

Times of India, Pune edition was censured on the complaint of Ms. Kiran Ram Moghe, representing several women organizations for publication of a news article by trivialising the problem of harassment of women at work place by providing laughable solutions to what is actually a serious crime against women. The Council held the respondent responsible for infraction of the norms of journalistic conduct by publishing the impugned news item and then denying the complainant’s their right of rejoinder. The Times of India, Delhi edition was also censured in the complaint of Dr. Rajiv Kumar Gupta, NOIDA for carrying pictures in its supplement Delhi Times which were held to be are vulgar and obscene in nature. The Council felt that the Times of India violated the provisions of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986 and also the norms of Journalist Conduct universally recognized and accepted and incorporated in the code of conduct built up by the Council U/S 13(2) (b) of the Press Council Act 1978.