LHC moved against Pemra's ban on court coverage
- By Abid Khan -
- May 24, 2024
LAHORE: Another petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court against Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) notification prohibiting TV channels from news of court proceedings.
This is the fourth petition filed in the high courts against Pemra ban order.
The petitions mentioned as respondents the Pemra chairman and director general, the federal government through the secretaries for interior and law and parliamentary affairs.
The petitions called for the Pemra notification to be suspended, set aside and declared illegal.
According to a notification issued by the electronic media regulator on Tuesday, all news channels have been barred from airing material about ‘ongoing court cases’ until a final verdict is announced.
The media regulatory authority imposed ban on news regarding subjudice cases and directed the channels to only air information that is in the public interest.
PEMRA also directed the media outlets to avoid expressing their ‘opinions on subjudice cases’. It also warned against discussing ongoing court cases in TV programmes in a way that could ‘influence’ investigations or the trial.
The regulatory body has emphasised that only information that is deemed necessary for the public will be allowed to be disseminated through media channels.