Rules set for media coverage of Ayodhya title suit verdict

New Delhi : After facing charges of provocative and irresponsible coverage of several major happenings, the electronic media?s wings are being clipped before the Ayodhya title suit verdict as the News Broadcasters Association on Saturday set guidelines for TV channels for coverage of the verdict.

The guidelines ask the channels not to speculate on what the verdict would be before the Court pronounces it and also refrain from showing footage of 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.

?The basic guideline to be adhered to is that all such news should conform strictly to sub-serving the public interest of maintaining communal harmony and preservation of the secular ethos of our plural society and it should influence the formation of the correct public opinion,? the guidelines said.

It also cautioned the channels from speculating on the judgement and its possible consequences, as well as from showing protests or celebrations by any community or group after the verdict is out on September 24.

?No footage of the demolition of the Babri Masjid is to be shown in any new item relating to the judgement,? the guidelines added, pointing that the Ayodhya verdict issue must be handled with ?extra care?.

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court will pronounce its judgement on the Ayodhya title suit on September 24, having rejected on Friday a petition seeking a deferment in the verdict.

The administrative machinery is already geared up to combat any possible violence after the court verdict on the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid issue.

The verdict on the 60- year-old Ayodhya title suit to determine who owns the disputed land is being awaited with eagerness by both the Muslims and Hindus and with consternation by the governments tasked to prevent riots over the issue.

The government has plans to deploy about 1.5 lakh policemen on the streets along with 4000 paramilitary personnel in Uttar Pradesh and the cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh have been put on high alert.

The Union government has urged the public to maintain peace through newspaper advertisements in the aftermath of the verdict.

?It goes without saying that the judgement needs to be treated with the utmost respect. At the same time, we must remember the fact that the judgement, at this stage, is one step in the judicial process. The determination of the issues need not necessarily end with this judgment unless it is accepted by all parties,? the Union Cabinet said in a resolution on Thursday.

?In case any of the parties feels that further judicial consideration is required, there are legal remedies available which could be resorted to,? the Cabinet said in a statement.

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Sept 8, while hearing the case, asked all concerned parties to be present before the court on that date at 3:30 pm as the bench will decide who owns the 2.77 acres of disputed land on which Babri Masjid stood.

The entire nation will be awaiting the decision by the three-member bench, comprising of Justice S U Khan, Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice D V Sharm, in one of the fieriest affairs in the country.

Over 2,000 people were killed in the riots that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid by Hindu kar sevaks on December 6, 1992, who claimed the Masjid was built after demolishing a Ram temple in 1528.