CM Stalin has given consent for forming State Press Council, Tamil Nadu govt tells HC

The State Council should be headed by retired judges of the Supreme Court or the State High Court, the bench added and granted three months time to comply with this direction.

The accreditation rules have been amended in tune with the time and were vetted by the Law department of the state government and the Law Officer attached to the High Court. (File)

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday informed the Madras High Court that state Chief Minister M K Stalin has given his consent for the formation of a separate Press Council for Tamil Nadu, as directed by the court earlier.

While passing orders on a writ petition from one S Sekaran, who claimed himself as a journalist and levelled various allegations against the then Inspector General of Police (Idol Theft Wing-CID) A G Pon Manickavel, a division bench headed by Justice N Kirubakaran (since retired) on August 19, 2021, among other things, had directed the government to form a separate body to regulate the media-persons, in addition to the Press Council of India in New Delhi.

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The State Council should be headed by retired judges of the Supreme Court or the State High Court, the bench added and granted three months time to comply with this direction.

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When the matter came up again on Thursday before the first bench of Chief Justice M N Bandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, a counter-affidavit was filed on behalf of the Information and Public Relations department stating that the Chief Minister had granted his consent for the formation of the separate press council.

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The accreditation rules have been amended in tune with the time and were vetted by the Law department of the state government and the Law Officer attached to the High Court.

The amended TN State News Media Accreditation Rules 2021 would be issued through a government order (GO). The process of circulation and approval from the competent authorities for formation of the TN Press Council and the issuance of the GO for the accreditation rules are likely to be completed within a short time after the completion of the urban local body elections, the counter-affidavit added.

The bench adjourned the matter by two weeks.

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