Media Trial and Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression: An Analysis

Abstract

The right to freedom of speech and expression is very essential in a democracy and so is the freedom of the press. It creates an opportunity for free discussion of issues. There is always a need for these kinds of rights to be backed by law but there cannot be any freedom that is completely unrestricted or absolute. One cannot deny the importance of media as it keeps the public informed, educated and vigilant and at times it also behaves as a watchdog of the government functions and its abuses, by making them available to the public by way of various mediums like television, radio, newspaper, etc. But nowadays, it is seen that the media houses are acting as “public court” and are starting to interfere with the proceedings of the court which completely overlooks the vital gap between an “accused” and a “convict” keeping at stake the golden principles of “presumption of innocence until proven guilty” and “guilt beyond reasonable doubt”. The research study focuses on the balance between both the freedom and the restrictions on such freedoms.