New Delhi: Terming the delay in the constitution of the new council of the Press Council of India (PCI) as “shocking” and “disconcerting”, the Mumbai Press Club (MPC) has said that despite being an autonomous body, the PCI has been reduced to a non-functional entity.
“Each press council has a three-year term, and the chairperson is mandated to set in motion the selection process so that a new press council is constituted as soon as the term of the previous one ends. This continuity has been shattered. Nearly five months have passed since the 14th Press Council completed its term on 5 October 2024, but there is no sign of the 15th Press Council being constituted,” said the MPC in a statement.
The MPC said that at the core of the crisis is the attempt to oust two important and active journalist bodies from representation in the Press Council – the Mumbai Press Club (MPC) and the Editors Guild of India (EGI).
“Both organisations are well known and are active in upholding the rights of the Fourth Estate. It is also significant that it was these two organisations that had taken the lead in the previous Press Council on issues such as the wrongful detention of journalists, the suppression of press persons in Jammu and Kashmir and the mass retrenchments of media personnel during the Covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps this was not appreciated in certain quarters,” said the MPC statement.
It added that as a result of the two organisations being vocal, the MPC and Editors Guild were disqualified by the PCI Scrutiny Committee when called upon to present their credentials as bodies representing journalists for inclusion in the new 15th Press Council being set up.
‘Is the delay deliberate?’
“Small technical and irrelevant issues, such as documents not being notarised properly or registration certificates looking faded and ‘illegible,’ were cited as ‘reasons’ to reject the credentials of the two organizations. It is also significant that, among the sitting organisations that made up the 14th Press Council, only two – EGI and the MPC – were disqualified,” said the MPC statement.
However, the Delhi High Court had vindicated the stand of the MPC in its judgement on November 22, 2024, setting aside the “recommendations” of the Scrutiny Committee and including the name of the Club as a legitimate “Association of Persons.”
“Subsequent to the Delhi High Court ruling, the Chairperson of the Press Council has included the MPC in the list of legitimate organisations of journalists and sought nominations for membership to the 15th Press Council. However, in the interim, the Press Council has filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court against the judgement and launched a legal course which has delayed and postponed the reconstitution of the new term of the Press Council indefinitely,” said the MPC statement.
The MPC has written a letter to Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging him to intervene and direct the chairperson to convene the 15th Press Council without any delay.
“It is indeed surprising that the process of reconstitution of the 15th Press Council, which was started way back on 9th June 2024 with advertisements inviting press bodies to apply for inclusion as representative organizations, is yet to be concluded. Though 8 months have passed, there is still no sign of a functioning Press Council! Is the delay deliberate?” said the MPC statement.
