Delhi HC Judge hearing Vijay Nair plea in liquor case recuses herself

On November 21 last year, the HC had directed five TV news channels to ensure that all broadcasts on the cases of the ED and CBI in the excise policy are in “tune with the official press releases that may be issued either by the CBI or ED and comply with the directives which govern”, namely the code of ethics and broadcasting standards and the news broadcasting and digital standards regulations as adopted by the News Broadcasters and Digital Association.

While issuing notice to the TV news channels, the HC had directed the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) to “duly examine the broadcasts” and place a report whether the broadcasts had complied with the directives mentioned above. Nair contended that the alleged leak has prejudiced his rights in the case.

The ED in the last hearing had argued that none of the broadcasts in respect of which Nair raised objections are based on any information provided or disclosed by the ED to the broadcasters concerned. The CBI had argued previously that no detail of the investigative process was divulged by any person of the CBI to the news broadcasters.

After perusing the press releases issued by the CBI, the HC said, “A textual examination of those releases in juxtaposition with the broadcasts which have constrained the petitioner to approach this court would indicate that there is simply no correlation between what was broadcasted and the information which was provided by the investigating agencies in the public domain.”

The CBI has alleged before a Delhi Court that Nair was actively involved in the formulation of the Delhi government’s liquor policy for 2021-22.