The bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli said that freedom of press, which is protected under Article 19(1)(a), was “trumped” by not providing Media One a reasonable avenue to challenge the decision.
“There is no explanation of what weighed in the mind of the court leading it to hold that the denial of clearance was justified despite observing that the nature and gravity of the issue is not discernible,” the court said.