Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 10:A high court division bench today dismissed a PIL and said it was not maintainable because the petitioners had not approached the concerned authority before moving the court. "Before filing this PIL, the petitioners have not approached the concerned authority for initiating requisite action," the bench said and added that a "person can file a PIL in the court only in the event of inaction on part of the concerned authority". The court directive came in a PIL filed against the publicity which was given to separatist Masarat Alam. In the PIL, petitioners submitted that within a day's time media had made Masarat from an unknown individual to the leader of separatists. It was argued that only 100 people gathered in some corner of the Valley and raised anti-national slogans and waved Pakistani flags but it is the media which should be held responsible for this, as it had publicised the matter in such a way as if the whole Valley was anti-national. "Instead of showing the life history of freedom fighters like Gandhiji, Bhagat Singh and many more, media houses engaged themselves in projecting the life history of Masarat Alam, as if he was the freedom fighter or actor of our country," they said and stressed that Press Council of India should take necessary steps so that such news items were not aired in future and must not be publicised at all. The bench, after hearing the two sides, observed that in this case there was no whisper of the petitioners' approaching the concerned authority before filing the PIL. Therefore, this PIL was not maintainable, the bench said and dismissed it.(JNF) |
