Atleast eight retired IPS officers, who have served Mumbai police in various senior positions and solved many sensitive cases in the city, have filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking guidelines to stop “unfair, malicious and false media campaign against Mumbai police in the matter.”
The PIL has been signed by M N Singh, P S Pasricha, K Subramanyam, D N Jadhav, D Shivanandan, Sanjeev Dayal, S C Mathur and K P Raghuvanshi –all Director General-level officers at the time of their retirement. This is the first that such top officers have come together to defend a force they served with distinction.
Maharashtra Police & Mumbai Police have a reputation. Maharashtra Police is compared to Scotland Yard Police. The manner in which Mumbai Police was targetted in Sushant Singh Rajput case, I welcome the PIL filed by retired IPS officers, said Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh
The PIL demands that there should be some instructions/guidelines that needs to be followed by media houses “be it print, electronic, radio, internet or television or any other form of media”. The media should avoid publishing and circulating stories that are false, derogatory and scandalous comments, social media posts, news stories, etc. “which may jeopardise the reputation of the police and may cause the public to lose faith in the system and in police administration or hinder the cause of administration of justice.”
It also seeks guidelines for “ethical reporting and responsible journalism and constant monitoring by the relevant authorities and action in case any media house indulges in acts that may be contrary to and violate” what the PIL seeks.
The PIL demands guideline not only into the Sushant Singh Rjput’s unnatural death case, but in “general” in nature as well. The relevant authorities, who have been named respondents in the PIL, apart from Union and State Governments are Press Council of India and the News Broadcasters Association.