Taking a strong view of a news channel telecasting “objectionable” photographs of Monica Bedi, the Supreme Court on Friday restrained the channel from further telecasting the said news item.The photos, shown by the channel, were allegedly shot by a camera hidden in the bathroom of a Madhya Pradesh prison where Bedi was lodged in connection with a passport forgery case. The Bench, headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, later issued a notice to the channel. Notices have also been issued to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the State of Madhya Pradesh.The Bench has allowed the counsel, senior advocate K T S Tulsi, to implead all other news channels in the petition. Tulsi, seeking direction that the other channels should be stopped from airing the photos, argued that such news items misused the Freedom of Press as they violate Article 21 of the Constitution. He also submitted that it amounts to violation of the petitioner’s right to privacy, and by telecasting such images, the channel has actively abetted the crime.Bedi was acquitted by a Bhopal court in the passport forgery case on July 16. She was released on July 25 from a Hyderabad jail after getting bail from a court there in a similar case.
