'He is a vigilant man': High court dismisses PIL seeking to stop media trial in Sushil Kumar case

The Delhi High Court today dismissed a PIL to stop the media trial against Olympic medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar who was arrested last week for allegedly kidnapping and murdering a 23-year-old wrestler at Chhatrasal Stadium in Delhi.

The PIL was moved by Kumar's mother, Kamla Devi, and a law student Srikant Prasad. Arguing before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh, petitioner Prasad contended that the media is declaring Kumar as a criminal even before his case has been examined by the court.

The petitioner said, “The media is misusing Article 19 creating false and frivolous headlines...It is clearly seen that there was a malafide intention to sabotage his career.”

Prasad further argued that Kumar has won many esteemed awards and has gained name and fame for the country at the international level. He added that the news channels are running headlines such as “Delhi ka Darinda”, and they should instead stick to reporting “straightforward news”. The petition asked the court to issue directions in this regard to the central government and the Press Council of India.

The court, however, refused to entertain the plea. Taking into consideration that Kumar was free to take the recourse available to him by law, the court observed that Sushil Kumar was a "vigilant man" and no PIL could be entertained on his behalf.