Released on: July 2, 2008, 7:50 pm

Press Release Author: Arjun Natarajan

Industry: Law

Press Release Summary: Peter Mcwilliams said that the news media are, for the most
part, the bringers of bad news and it\'s not entirely the media\'s fault as bad news
gets higher ratings and sells more papers than good news.

Press Release Body: As if to prove that, Media in India has just recently splashed
the news all over that a six year old boy shot dead his three year old sister in
Durg district of Chhattisgarh state.

The problem in reporting this news by media is that it has blatantly disclosed the
name of the boy, his sister, his village etc which is not correct as per the
Juvenile Justice Act in India.

In India, this is not the first time, media has taken the law of the land for a ride
in such instances. While reporting Gurgaon Euro International School shooting, eight
year old Bihar child serial killer, Satna School shooting etc media had a free for
all disclosure of the juveniles involved in the incident.

The legal position in this context as follows: Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (56 of 2000) as amended by the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006 (33 of 2006)., states
that: \'Prohibition of publication of name, etc., of juvenile or child in need of
care and protection involved in any proceeding under the Act-(1) No report in any
newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or visual media of any inquiry regarding a juvenile
in conflict with law or a child in need of care and protection under this Act shall
disclose the name, address or school or any other particulars calculated to lead to
the identification of the juvenile or child shall nor shall any picture of any such
juvenile or child shall be published: Provided that for any reason to be recorded in
writing, the authority holding the inquiry may permit such disclosure, if in its
opinion such disclosure is in the interest of the juvenile or the child. (2) Any
person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1), shall be liable to a
penalty which may extend to twenty-five thousand rupees\'.

Its high time, media matures in reporting news about juvenile in conflict with law.

About Arjun Natarajan: I attach immense importance to the rule of law and the right
to fair trial, with special emphasis as regards juveniles in conflict with law and I
am a proud student of V.M. Salgaocar College of Law (VMSCL) Goa www.vmslaw.edu/
which has been taking great strides in improving the quality of legal education in
India. The Education at VMSCL is not limited to imparting of legal knowledge to the
students on various legal subjects but includes a kind of legal training which could
enable the students to develop the capacity for rational thinking, articulation,
presentation of arguments and sensitivity to the social needs. VMSCL has one of the
best libraries which any law college can possess. In fact VMSCL had the option of
being one of the National Law Schools but considering the steep fees charged by the
National Law Schools, the benovalent Salgaocars decided to retain its identity by
maintaining a reasonable and affordable fees structure.

Web Site: http://www.vmslaw.edu/

Contact Details: Arjun Natarajan
Final Year Law Student
VM salgaocar College of Law (VMSCL)
Miramar, Goa 403001
Phone 91-832-2462225
arjun.vmslaw@gmail.com
www.vmslaw.edu/