New Delhi, Oct 13: Press Council chairperson Justice Markandey Katju today asked newspapers not to damage reputations of people and warned them of serious legal action in case of violations.
 Holding a Bengali newspaper from Kolkata of failing to maintain high standards in reporting a matter about a 34-year- old woman IAS officer, he said, instead of referring the case to the inquiry committee  of the council he was making a public statement on the issue.
 He said that while newspapers certainly had freedom of speech under the Constitution, it was subject to reasonable restrictions and not an absolute freedom.
 Newspapers also had a responsibility not to damage the reputation of anyone because it was an invaluable asset of a person, Katju said.
 The former Supreme Court judge said that in the present case he has perused the papers and was satisfied that the newspaper in question acted in a irresponsible and reckless manner only with an object to provide cheap sensationalism.
 "In this case the false reporting against the character of a young lady officer suffering from an advanced stage of cancer shows utter callousness, insensitivity and irresponsibility on the part of the newspaper concerned," he said.
 "All the newspapers in the country are hereby warned that the Press Council will not tolerate such violations of the norms of the journalistic ethics and will in future take serious legal action if that is done," he said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 13 Oct 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 14 Oct 2012 00:00:00 IST