CJI opposes external regulator for media - Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam has opposed any external regulator for the media. Making a strong pitch for self regulation of the media on Tuesday, the Chief Justice said correcting the media through an external regulator was a strong urge that should be resisted. Speaking here at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Sathasivam described the media and the judiciary as two key pillars of the Indian democracy. He said that freedom of the press was an essential requisite of a truly functioning democracy. He said: "The temptation to correct the media through an external regulatory authority may seem a dominant urg e, but it is surely not the answer. The press is naturally and rightly touchy about it. External regulation could result in a perilous departure from the cherished principle of the freedom of the press as the sine qua non of our democracy." Quoting Mahatma Gandhi Sathasivam said, "One thought that is fairly straightforward, and is consistent with the freedom of thought and expression, is self-regulation by the profession itself." Adding a word of caution Sathasivam said, "A media that cherishes its independence must recognize that this freedom is as essential for the judiciary to deliver justice as it is for the media to observe its impartiality." He added that freedom of press was an essential requisite of a truly functioning democracy. ``It is the ark of the covenant of democracy because public criticism is essential to the working of its institutions. It is the heart of the social and political intercourse," the CJI said. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEMTbT9fp4hIr59xntDON2YX52f-Q&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/CJI-opposes-external-regulator-for-media/articleshow/21289161.cms

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