On Monday, the Delhi High Court ordered news channels to follow the standards that govern them and to assure that all broadcasts covering the liquor scam case are predicated on official press releases issued by the investigative agencies. The court ordered television news channels to affirm that all telecasts on the excise fraud case are “in tune with the official press releases.”
The directives were issued in response to a plea brought by AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair, an accused in the Delhi liquor scam case, who claimed that the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate had released sensitive material to news channels. Nair said that the purported disclosure jeopardised his legal rights.
Five television news networks received notices from a single-judge panel chaired by Justice Yashwant Varma, and the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) was given instructions to “duly examine the broadcasts and tell the court whether they have complied with their guidelines.”
During the hearing, the high court directed the CBI and the ED to document their official press releases and communications, and stated that it would assess the statements issued to the media to ascertain whether the TV channels reported the case on the basis of the official statements or on “a figment of their imagination.”
Following a review of the press releases, the court concluded that there is no correlation between the news broadcasts and the information supplied by the agency. However, the court noted that “…it is not a case where information was collectively leaked by investigative agencies.”
The court was surprised by the News Broadcaster and Digital Standard Authority (NBDSA)’s claim that it lacked the authority to restrict the channels. According to Advocate Nisha Bhambhani, counsel for the NBDSA, some of the broadcasters were not their partners. After taking note of the submission, the bench directed to Implead NBDSA and investigate what had been broadcast. The case has been adjourned until February 7, 2023.
On September 27, Vijay Nair was arrested and held in CBI custody for five days. In court, the CBI alleged that Nair was actively involved in the formulation of the Delhi government’s liquor policy for 2021-22 and that he met with the co-accused, liquor manufacturers, and distributors in various hotels in Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi to arrange illicit money through hawala operators.
Vijay Nair was the former CEO of Only Much Louder, a Mumbai-based entertainment and event management organisation (OML). He served as a ‘part-time volunteer’ for the Aam Aadmi Party in the run-up to the 2020 Delhi State Legislative Assembly elections. OpIndia published a detailed report on Vijay Nair and his association with the Aam Aadmi Party.
