Delhi High Court wants news channels not to air any defamatory content against Bollywood

"We used to find Doordarshanvery stale. I wish Doordarshan comes back. They had some lovely broadcasters then..," observed Justice Rajiv Shakdher during the hearing of a suit.

The judge suggested "toning down" of the content while remarking that the media channels were not following the Programme Code and rules framed under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995."If you (new channels) do not follow self-regulation, then what is to be done in a matter like this? You are prejudging issues. It is less news and more opinion," the court said.

Reacting to the lawyer representing Times Now, the court said, "It is disheartening and demoralizing… I mean it demoralizes everyone. Today it is not hurting us (judiciary)… suppose it is your fraternity tomorrow. Surely, you can investigate but it has to be fair reportage."

The court also said people "are very scared of the fourth estate" and no one wants to have their private life in public.

"Surely, these are people who are public personalities so that element of privacy to an extent gets diluted… but please see what happened when the media chased someone like (Princess) Diana. You cannot go on like this. Courts are the last ones who want to interfere…. but what is happening here… is that you do not want to follow the code?"the court asked.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher also expressed concern about the kind of language being used on TV channels after it was discovered that participants in debates have been found to use cuss words. He also said, "Defendants (channels and anchors) will ensure that no defamatory content is uploaded on their social media platforms or displayed on their channels."

The 1,069-page petition claimed the impact of the "wrongs of the defendants" was felt prominently in the national capital, and as a result, legal action had been initiated in the Delhi high court.

The court adjourned the hearing of the case to December 14.