New Delhi: “I cannot guarantee that it is not going to be deleted,” remarked Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul as petitioners seeking guidelines for seizure of electronic devices of journalists and academics urged him to ensure that that their plea was taken up on December 14, reports Amit Anand Choudhary.
Though apparently made in a lighter vein, the remark struck many as significant as it came amid a row over deletion of the judges’ appointment case from matters listed before Justice Kaul on Tuesday.The second senior-most judge had expressed ignorance about the deletion and had said that the CJI must be aware why it had not been put up before him.
On Wednesday, as a bench of Justices Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia heard a batch of petitions seeking clear rules on seizure of gadgets from journalists, ASG S V Raju submitted that the government may come up with such guidelines and one week more was needed.
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The Centre is forming a committee to frame guidelines on the seizure of electronic devices by investigating agencies, as per the Supreme Court. The court had previously requested the Centre to establish comprehensive guidelines specifically for media professionals. The Additional Solicitor General informed the court that the committee is being constituted and guidelines will be issued. The court granted the Centre some time and scheduled the next hearing for December 14. The issue of delayed guidelines was raised by the petitioners, who expressed concern over the assault on press freedom.
The Centre assured the Supreme Court that guidelines would be framed regarding seizure of electronic devices of journalists and academics by probe agencies. The government sought a week’s time from the court. The court had previously emphasized the need for guidelines to protect the rights of journalists and others whose devices are seized. Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishna requested that the case not be deleted from the list on December 14. Justice Kaul, who is retiring next week, remarked that the Centre sought only a week.