Aarohi Dhumale
On 23rd August 2024, the Times of India and the Indian Express published apologies by complying with the Gujarat High Court’s order. This order came as a result of inaccurate reporting of the Court’s remarks by both newspapers.
These apologies were published in compliance with a recent Gujarat High Court order by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi. On 22nd August, 2024,, the Gujarat High Court warned both the newspapers that it would issue contempt of court notices if the apologies are not published. Prior to this, the High Court had issued notices to the regional editors of the Times of India and Indian Express on 13th August, 2024. The Court sought explanations regarding the “false and distorted narration” of the court proceedings in a particular case published by them. Justice Agarwal observed that due to the way the news was presented, it seemed as if the Court had already formed an opinion about the right of a minority institution to appoint teachers of its choice.
She also said that this action by the newspapers appeared to be intentional. “This was a deliberately coordinated effort and a planned approach… It’s improbable that three newspapers would report the same thing in the same manner, differing only in language. The tone of all three articles was identical. The reports were crafted similarly, with no distinction between the Court’s observations and its findings or orders,” she said.
Both the newspapers admitted that they had reported the news incorrectly. In its apology, TOI said, “The newspaper holds the High Court in the highest esteem, and we sincerely apologise to the Court and our valued readers for the error in the reporting,”
However, the High Court was not fully satisfied with the apologies submitted by both newspapers in their affidavits. Therefore, the High Court ordered both newspapers to publish a public apology in their respective publications. The Court also instructed that it should be clearly mentioned that both the reporter and the editor were responsible for misreporting the Court’s observations.
Bench: Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi