No way to enforce legal provisions on reporting of sex abuse cases: SC

New Delhi: There is "no mechanism" to enforce and implement legal provisions and guidelines on media reporting on rape and sexual abuse cases, the Supreme Court said Thursday while calling for a balance between the criminal justice system and freedom of the press. 

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta, which observed that there cannot be a blanket ban on media reporting of such cases, was told that guidelines and statutory provisions were being "routinely violated" as the press was doing "media trial".
 
The bench, in the "interest of all victims of sexual abuse and sexual violence", restrained the electronic media from telecasting or broadcasting their images in a morphed or blurred form. 

It also asked the media not to interview such victims and said the news of the events may be broadcast by the media keeping in mind the interest of the victims, which should be of concern. 

"We also request the print media and the electronic media not to sensationalize such events," it said and posted the matter for hearing on October 4. 

Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for a scribe who has challenged a Patna High Court order banning the media from reporting on the probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter home case, said there were guidelines and statutory provisions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Contempt of Courts Act.