The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that had sought action against media houses for airing exit polls immediately after the last phase of Lok Sabha elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra termed the PIL as politically motivated. They stressed that now the government was elected. And that it was time to talk of governance rather than controversies arising during elections. “The Election Commission will look into these issues. It is a political interest litigation case at first sight. We dismiss it,” the bench said.
PIL filed through advocate Sunil Sharma had sought an investigation into the role played by media houses. And their associates in airing exit polls within moments of the last phase of elections. The PIL also claimed that it had caused huge instability in the market. The petition had further said that on June 1, various channels aired exit polls to which the investors reacted. And spurt the market up to June 3 only to slump on June 4 causing a loss of Rs 31 lakh crore.
The plea, filed by advocate BL Jain through advocate Varun Thakur, argued that media coverage of exit polls misled investors and led to a huge slump in the market. The petitioners contended that imbalanced media coverage, without regulation, distorted investor perception resulting in huge financial losses. While denting the economy and prestige of the country at the global level.
It further noted that the media houses started discussing the exit polls from the very day the final phase of elections was over. Thatwould also have encouraged investors to participate in the market activities. When actual election results were announced, they caused a crash in the market, which the petitioners argued was the direct consequence of the actions of the media.
Accordingly, the PIL had prayed for a comprehensive investigation by multiple agencies, including the CBI, ED, CBDT, SEBI, and SFIO, into the roles of media entities. Such as Axis My India, India Today Media Plex, Times Now, Independent News Service Pvt Ltd. (India TV), ABP News Pvt Ltd., Republic Media Network, News National Network Pvt Ltd., TV9 Bharatvarsh, and NDTV. It contended that these media houses have contravened Section 126A of the Representation of People Act, 1951. And also the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India on April 2, 2024.
The petitioners accused the media of “manipulating election results by using partial coverage of exit polls.” They contended such acts dent the very concept of free and fair elections and also hamper the rule of law.
It would, therefore, clearly appear that the rejection of the PIL by the Supreme Court implies that this matter lies strictly within the domain of the Election Commission and not that of the courts. The Court also expressed its intention to let the country move ahead in terms of governance. And not to remain mired with election-related disputes.
In brief, the Supreme Court has dismissed the PIL that sought an investigation into media practices over exit polls. Saying these issues have to be addressed by the Election Commission. And more above all is the proposition to go beyond electoral controversies.
ANI
