The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest Litigation (PIL) seeking an investigation against media houses and their associates for telecasting exit polls immediately after the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections that had witnessed a huge jump in the stock market.
Dismissing the PIL by advocate B L Jain, a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra said that the PIL was clearly a case of political interest litigation.
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“The government is already elected now. Let us close the saga of what happens during elections and focus on governance in the country. The Election Commission will handle it; we will not run the Election Commission. This is a clear case of political interest litigation. Dismissed,” the bench said in its order.
The PIL had sought an investigation against media organisations and their associates/companies for telecasting exit polls immediately after the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections, which allegedly influenced investors who suffered a loss of Rs 31 lakh crore as the share market crashed after the results on June 4.
The plea, filed in June, stated, “The telecast of any news, debate, or programme must not convey any impression of bias or prejudice in favour of or against any political party. Unfortunately, uncontrolled and unregulated electronic media has been working as a commercial industry, manipulated by one political party against another political.”
The petitioner had said that telecasting the prediction/exit polls violated Section 126 A of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India on April 2, 2024.
