No ban on court reporting, IHC assures journalists

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Wednesday assured journalists that there was no ban on court reporting but on “irresponsible” court reporting.

The court’s remarks came during the hearing of petitions challenging Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) restrictions on airing of court proceedings on news channels.

During the hearing of pleas filed by the Press Association and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq said: “There is no ban on court reporting. The media can report the court proceedings.”

The chief justice, however, maintained that the ban is, in fact, on “irresponsible reporting”. “The problem is only with running sensational tickers,” said Justice Farooq. During the hearing of the petition, Pemra filed its reply in the court.

Meanwhile, the additional attorney general was asked by the court if the federal government was involved in this matter. “This is Pemra’s matter, not the federal government’s,” he responded.

One of the petitioner’s lawyer, Barrister Umer Ijaz Gilani, said that the law used by Pemra does not prohibit reporting of pending cases. The court called for final arguments at the next hearing, adjourning it until June 11.

The IHC had, on May 24, issued notices to Pemra and secretary information after hearing petitions challenging its notifications prohibiting television channels from airing news of court proceedings and directing them to only report on written orders.

The notices come after the electronic media watchdog issued two notifications ordering TV channels not to run reporting of court proceedings and for reporters to only report courts’ written orders on May 21.

Following Pemra’s directives, PFUJ had moved the IHC against the watchdog’s decision, requesting the IHC to annul the media watchdog’s notification banning reporting of judicial proceedings.