A two-judge division bench of the Supreme Court of India on Thursday denied relief in a petition by the Election Commission of India seeking to restrict media coverage of open courts.  The petition was made by the Election Commission on account of the oral remarks of the High Court of Madras that had compared the Election Commission’s mismanagement of COVID-19 protocol during the recent spate of state elections with the crime of murder. The Election Commission had additionally requested the top court to expunge these remarks for being “baseless” and “tarnishing the image” of the constitutional body.

While considering the request in the given case, Chief Election Commissioner of India v M.R. Vijayabhaskar, the Supreme Court held that the reporting of cases in itself cannot be curtailed under Indian Constitution because Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech and expression which extends to freedom of the press to report and convey information.

It further highlighted that this position of law is in consonance with the international standards on the freedom of press codified in the Madrid Principles on the Relationship between the Media and Judicial Independence which emphasize that the media’s right to report on judicial cases is one of the foundations of democracy in any country.

Thus, in light of the constitutional scheme, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea of the Election Commission for restricting reporting by media houses. With regards to the request for expungement of the Madras High Court’s remarks, the court clarified that since such remarks were made orally, they are not a part of the official judicial record and hence the question of expungement does not arise.