4 months ago
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The Supreme Court has directed State governments to germinate a policy for police-media briefing modelled connected a manual prepared by the court’s amicus curiae, elder advocator Gopal Sankaranarayanan, establishing a “principled, rights-compatible and investigation-safe framework”.
The bid was passed by a Bench headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh successful a batch of petitions led by NGO People’s Union for Civil Liberties, which had successful 2014 led to a important judgement successful which 16 mandatory guidelines were laid down arsenic instrumentality to beryllium complied with successful the aftermath of a constabulary brushwood oregon a suspected extra-judicial killing.
The tribunal had initially charged the Home Ministry with the work to hole the manual for champion practices to beryllium followed successful constabulary media briefings. However, the task yet fell connected the amicus.
In its order, the Supreme Court took connected grounds the papers prepared by Mr. Sankaranarayanan titled, ‘Police Manual for Media Briefing’, which was prepared aft considering the views of the Union authorities and the practices prevalent astatine the planetary level.
The bid noted the deficiency of capable involvement shown passim by the States contempt repeated orders granting them clip to participate.
“We bash not privation to support these matters pending immoderate longer. We deem it due to nonstop the States to germinate an due argumentation for media briefing by taking into information the ‘Police Manual for Media Briefing’ furnished by the amicus curiae. The needful volition person to beryllium done wrong a play of 3 months from the day of receipt of a transcript of this order,” the Supreme Court directed successful its bid connected January 15, published connected Wednesday (January 21, 2026).
The Bench ordered the Supreme Court Registry to upload Mr. Sankaranarayanan’s enactment connected the Supreme Court website wrong a play of 2 weeks.
In his manual, Mr. Sankaranarayanan wrote that his enactment was successful enactment with the “public’s morganatic involvement successful timely, close information” portion safeguarding the request to safeguard the dignity, privacy, and fair-trial rights of victims, witnesses and suspects.
The manual’s recommendations upheld the integrity of constabulary operations and transgression investigations, noting that the constabulary “communicate to forestall harm, close rumours, enlist nationalist practice and support instrumentality and order”.
It is besides highly captious successful the existent societal media property that the constabulary pass lone correct, verified and indispensable accusation to the nationalist to forestall the dispersed of incorrect information, which has the propensity to disrupt instrumentality and order, the manual said.
