STATESMAN LTD Vs. FACT FINDING COMMITTEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this Rule, the first petitioner is the Statesman Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Statesman) and the second petitioner is Cushrow Russy Irani, who is a shareholder and the Managing Director of the Statesman, Mr. Irani is the Chairman of the Press Trust of India and of the Audit Bureau of Circulation Limited. He is also one of the two Directors from India of the Press Foundation of Asia, Manila, Phillipines. He was at all material times the President of the Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society.

(2.) By a resolution No 19/3/72- Press, dated April 14, 1972. The Government of India decided to set up a Fact Finding Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) with the Respondent No. 2, Bhabatosh Datta as the Chairman and the third, fourth, fifth and sixth respondents as members of the said Committee. The resolution is in the following terms:--

(3.) The Committee by its letter dated September 5. 1972 issued a questionnaire and required all newspapers including the Statesman to answer the same. The Statesman did not answer the questionnaire. Many other newspaper proprietors also did not answer the same. It is now admitted that out of 821 daily newspapers only 150 have sent their answers to the questionnaire.