Allow media to cover gang-rape case, journalists ask High Court

New Delhi: After a city court ordered in-camera hearings and curbed media from attending and reporting proceedings of the December 16 gang-rape case, journalists urged the Delhi High Court to allow them to cover the case.

Pleading before a division bench of Chief Justice D. Murugesan and Justice V.K. Jain, advocate Meenakshi Lekhi told the court that journalists should be allowed to report the case for the "fair and transparent trial". Lekhi, representing legal journalists, said that freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right and it should not be violated. "Its their (journalists) duty to report the case, as now, its not the gang-rape case. Its a case of murder."

She said that from the media has been reporting the case "responsibly" from day one and has not revealed the name of the victim. The trial court January 7 had ordered in-camera trial of the case following unruly scenes that prevented the accused from being led into court. It also told the media not to report any news related to the case without its permission.