Bharatiya Janata Party - The Party with a Difference - Brief points made by Shri Arun Jaitley, Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) while speaking on the call attention motion on the issue of ‘Paid News’

Friday, 05 March 2010

The menace of use of money in Indian elections has excessively increased in the past few years. The need for excessive expenditure in elections leads to corruption in public life. Political favours are exchanged for a consideration. The volume of such transactions have increased.

Recent elections have shown that a large part of monies spent by the candidate includes payment for ‘paid news’. Paid news is synonym for corruption in the media. Newspapers and channels which resort to paid news work on the premise that candidates must pay for coverage during elections. News will be slanted and adversary’s news will be blacked out, if the media organizations are paid adequately. Non-payment leads to black out of the candidate’s campaign. It has now become common for commercial representatives of media organizations to approach candidates and political parties for ‘news packages’. Besides news organizations, some electronic channels in the recent elections resorted to an alternative method of ‘paid news’ in a legitimized form. National news channels decided to increase their advertisement rates several fold during the General Elections. There was a cartel that was formed. The cartel had the sanction of the collective body of the broadcasters. The difference between the rates of commercial advertising and election advertising was substantial. It was justified as an election premium. Representatives of channels informed political parties that the extra charge would compensate the political parties through live coverage of rallies and press briefings besides advertisement.

The Laws Violated

Paid news is bribery of the media. It interdicts the process of free and fair elections. It slants the political environment in favour of the person who can pay. It violates the limits set out by the Election Commission for expenditure in the elections. The Black Money as consideration of the ‘paid news’ violates the provisions of the Income Tax Act.

The credibility of the media reflects on the credibility of the democracy. The freedom of expression in the hands of the media organizations is secondary. The primary right is of the reader or the viewer. He has the right to honest, unadulterated news, which is being denied to him. He is not even being informed that the news, which he reads, is motivated by monetary considerations.

The Remedy

The menace was initially noticed about a decade ago. Like a virus it has increased its spread in the last few years. If unchecked, it will undermine the very basis of free and fair elections. A suggested solution can be on the following premise.

The freedom of speech and expression, guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (a) protects free speech. It does not protect business and trade. It certainly does not protect a business whose purpose is unlawful i.e to breach taxation laws, elections laws and pollute the reader/viewers’ mind with adulterated News. It must be clearly understood that ‘paid news’ is not free speech. It does not get protection of Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution. Therefore, any restriction of this will not be judged on the basis of restrictions set out under Article 19 (2).
Paid News, at best, is business or trade. It can be restricted by any law which is ‘in the interest of general public’. This business has unlawful purpose. Therefore, the consideration for this arrangement is also unlawful. Under Indian law, as also common law, any arrangement or agreement with an unlawful object is unlawful. The State is therefore entitled to prohibit it.
There should be a legislation, which should provide for the Election Commission, on receipt of report from the Returning Officer or otherwise to refer the matter to a Tribunal created under that statute. The Tribunal may comprise a sitting judge. The Election Commission, after a preliminary scrutiny of the matter must refer such complaints to the Tribunal. The Tribunal after affording an opportunity to the candidate/political party and to the media organizations, must be empowered to pass necessary orders. This Tribunal could be like a regulator, ensuring that the institutions of ‘paid news’ does not pollute the voters’ mind.

If the Tribunal is of the opinion that any media organization has resorted to ‘paid news’ or formed a cartel along with other organizations so as to extort money, directly or indirectly, to be used for ‘paid news’, it will pass appropriate orders.

The current global trend is that such regulators, if they find persons guilty, may pass orders imposing exemplary penalties. The Competition Commission, for example, upon a finding of abuse of dominant position or unfair cartels, is empowered to impose a exemplary and deterrent penalty.

Similarly, suitable penalty can be imposed on the media organizations and political parties, found directly responsible for such paid news.

The Candidate

The Representation of People’s Act, 1951 may be suitably amended to provide for amendment of the definition of corrupt practice, under Section 123, and include resort to ‘paid news’ as corrupt practice. This could be a ground for nullifying the election of the candidate. Additionally, there can be a provision for any candidate, defeated or elected, who resorts to ‘paid news’ as a mode of campaign, to be disqualified for a period of six years.