Chennai: The Madras High Court yesterday stayed the Press Council Of India's order directing the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary and the Madurai District Collector to appear inn person before it on September 19.
When a special mention was made by Advocate General A L Somayaji in this connection, the First Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Kumar Agrawal and Justice M Sathyanarayanan, said "the matter requires consideration."
As an interim measure, further proceedings pending beforethe Press Council of India (The Enquiry Comittee) which passed the order on May 15 as also operation of the order "shall remain stayed until further orders," the bench said in its brief order.
The matter pertained to a complaint made by S Manimaran, Editor 'Thina Boomi' Tamil daily, Madurai. to the Council on July 30, 2010 alleging that subsequent to the publication of a news item and articles against illegal quarrying, police took him and his son into custoday on July 21 without any warrant.
He also alleged false complaints were booked against him and wanted the PCI to take action against the concerned as otherwise it would affect his functioning as a news reporter.
The PCI took cognizance of the complaint issued notice to authorities which included the Home Secretary and Madurai District Collector who submitted their response.
Meanwhile, the editor withdrew his complaint on April 5, 2013. But the PCI in its order dated May 15 said it had expected that the police personnel concerned would have been suspended, which was not done even today by the District Collector nor the Home Secretary.
The PCI also observed that if Tamil Nadu government found itself unable to run the administration in accordance with the Constitution, it had no right to continue in office and should quit.
The Council had issued a notice for the personalappearance of the Home Secretary and the Madurai Collector, which was challenged by the Chief Secretary and other officials before the Court through a writ plea.
Judge K.K. Sasidharan, who heard the plea, said "a substantial question of law was raised in the writ petition, the constitution of the Council as an apex body presided over by a former Judge of the Supreme Court and when the position that even the writ petition filed against the orders passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal are posted before the Division Bench, I am of the considered view that this matter should be heard by a division bench."
He then directed the Registry to place the matter before the Acting Chief Justice for passing appropriate orders.
Immediately, the matter was made a special mention by the Advocate General before the First Bench in the afternoon, which took up the matter and stayed the order of the Press Council.
