The Supreme Court said that the mechanism of self-regulation and monitoring of TV news channels should be further ‘tightened’. For that, the News Broadcaster and Digital Association (NBDA) has been given four weeks to prepare new guidelines.
The Maharashtra Bombay High Court had asked for a review of self-regulation of TV channels. NBDA had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against that order. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Mishra is hearing the petition.
During the hearing, the NBDA noted that it was consulting its former president, retired Justices AK Sikri and RV Ravindran to frame the new guidelines. Advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the NBDA, said about the meetings held by the NBDA with AK Sikri and RV Ravindran, “The entire guidelines are being reviewed.”
The Centre had pointed out in the court that the NBDA had failed to register under the rules. Thus, senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the News Broadcasters Federation of India (NBFI), said, “NBDA is the only regulatory body registered with the Centre as per the 2022 rules.”
After hearing the arguments, the court adjourned the hearing, allowing four weeks to frame the full-fledged new guidelines.
