Muzaffarpur shelter home horror: No ban on reporting, but don’t publish photos, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the August 23 blanket ban imposed by the Patna High Court on the media coverage of the Muzaffarpur shelter home investigation. At the same time, the court set in motion the process to frame guidelines on media reporting of criminal cases stating the media “pre-judges and pronounces a person guilty” even when the trial in the case is still on.

Vacating the ban, the bench said, “The blanket ban order passed by the Patna HC with regard to media reporting is vacated. However, we expect the print and electronic media to be responsible in the matter of reporting of the incidents that have taken place in Muzaffarpur as well as the investigationst. This is in the interest of the minors.”

Additionally, even as it asked electronic and print media to restrain from showing the face of any victim — even if morphed or blurred — the court also issued a notice to the Press Council of India, News Broadcasting Standards Authority, the Editors Guild and the Indian Broadcasting Federation on how to enforce guidelines to prevent misreporting or framing a person as guilty before an order.