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Tag: J S Verma

  • Former Supreme Court judge R V Raveendran has been appointed Chairman of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA)

    Former SC judge R V Raveendran appointed NBSA chair

    By A Correspondent

     

    R V Raveendran

    Former and retired Supreme Court judge R V Raveendran has been appointed Chairman of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), the self-regulatory body set up by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA).

     

    He takes up the position left vacant due to the passing away of J S Verma, who passed away last month (April 2013).

    Born in 1946, Justice (retd) Raveendran completed his education from school to a degree in law in Bengaluru. He enrolled as an Advocate in March 1968 and practised extensively on the civil side till his elevation as a Permanent Judge of the Karnataka High Court in February 1993. He served as Chairman of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority for several years and popularised Lok Adalats in Karnataka.  He was elevated as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court in July 2004 and as a Judge of Supreme Court in September 2005. Justice Raveendran has rendered several landmark decisions in the fields of Civil and Constitutional Law. He has served as the Chairman of Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. As Chairman of Mediation & Conciliation Project Committee, he was instrumental in developing mediation across the country.  He retired from the Supreme Court as a Senior Judge in October 2011, and si presently engaged in giving lectures and writing articles on law related issues and in conducting arbitrations.

     

    Photo courtesy: Supreme Court of India website

     

     

     

  • The news media fraternity will remember the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as its conscience-keeper

    1 Minute View: RIP, Justice JS Verma

    It was sad to learn of the passing of J S Verma, the retired former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, the former chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission and Chairperson News Broadcasting Standards Authority. In recent times, he is of course better known for the speed in which the three-member committee chaired by him made suggestions for amendments to the law on sexual assault against women.

     

    In the crazy world of news channels trying to outwit each other for better ratings and revenues, it’s thanks to the retired justice’s rocksolid views and no-nonsense approach that the government did not interfere in the affairs of the news channels.

     

    In the wake of November 26, 2008 terror attack, the pressure to regulate news TV was mounting from Members of Parliament of all political hues on the then I&B Minsiter Ambika Soni. In their attempt to gain numbers, news channels often compromised content quality. Remember, the folks who run the news business have their huge egos, and it required a Justice Verma to ensure that they saw reason and help him ward off any government intervention.

     

    As we look back, it can be now said that it’s thanks only to someone with a reputation as impeccable as that of J S Verma at the helm of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority of India that the regulation-proponents were kept at bay.

     

    The News TV community have much to thank the late J S Verma for the happy state they are in.

     

    RIP.

     

  • Chairperson News Broadcasting Standards Authority and former Chief Justice of India & Former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission passed away late yesterday after a brief illness

    News broadcasters condole Justice Verma’s demise

    By A Correspondent

     

    Justice (Retd) J S Verma, Chairperson News Broadcasting Standards Authority and former Chief Justice of India and Former Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission passed away late yesterday after a brief illness.

     

    He is survived by his wife and two daughters who along with their families were with him at the time of his demise.

     

    Justice Verma was appointed the first Chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), a self-regulatory body set up by News Broadcasters Association (NBA) on October 2, 2008. He believed that self-regulation in the broadcast media is the best way forward in achieving a balance between the media’s duty to empower the participatory role of the people in governance. In his frequent interaction with members of NBA he would tell them that in a democracy, it was the media’s duty to inform the people of everything of significance; but the right to inform did not include the right to misinform as the media’s right is no greater than an individual’s right, which was again subject to reasonable restrictions. He advised members that self-regulation was the best way so that there was no occasion for any outside intervention to regulate. During the last four years of his association with NBSA, he took proactive steps to ensure that broadcasting standards improve.

     

    The NBA issued a statement echoing the electronic news broadcasting fraternity’s sentiments in mourning the passing away of the “extraordinary person who lived by his principles and convictions until the very end”.