MMS case: Media asked not to identify minor

The Court criticised a national daily for violating the mandatory provision of section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Taking serious note of the "sensationalisation" of the MMS sex scandal involving the minor boy of a reputed public school, the Juvenile Court on Tuesday urged Press Council of India (PCI) to ask the media to desist from identifying juveniles, even as it issued show cause notice to a national daily for "violating" the law in this regard.

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"I deem it just and proper to seek the indulgence of PCI in the matter for necessary direction to the media in general that section 21 of the Act makes it obligatory for the media not to disclose the name, address or school or any other particulars calculated to lead to the identification of the juvenile, including his picture, shall not be disclosed in any news report," Juvenile Justice Board Principal Magistrate Santosh Snehi Mann said.

Criticising the national daily for violating the mandatory provision of section 21 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Child Act), the Magistrate said, "I had seen the text of the newspaper attached with the application. There is a mention of school name time and again in different news item under different headings."

"I am concerned about the manner the reports are made in the newspaper about the incident. The text of the report per se contravenes provisions under section 21 of the Act."