4 Ws of journalism replaced by 4 Ds - Defame, Denigrate, Damnify and Destroy, says Kerala HC
Ernakulam: The Kerala High Court recently rejected an appeal to give anticipatory bail to Shajan Skariah, founding editor of Marunadan Malayali, an online news channel in a case of telecasting allegedly defamatory news against Kunnathunad MLA PV Sreenijin.
The HC expressed that the framework which was used by journalists to find information and report news accurately and comprehensively seem to have faded away. Justice VG Arun observed the changing nature of journalism lately and stated that the four Ws (Who, What, Where and When) which used to guide journalism has been replaced by four Ds, namely Defame, Denigrate, Damnify and Destroy, reported LiveLaw.
Justice Arun noted that the video broadcasted by Marunadan contained insults intended to humiliate Sreenijin. The allegations against the MLA include murder and insinuation against his father-in-law. The video also referred Sreenijin as a “Mafia Don”.
A case had been registered against Skariah after the news item was posted which contained false and baseless allegations against MLA Sreejin. After Skariah was booked for offenses punishable under SC/ST Act, 1989 and the Kerala Police Act, he admitted that he had broadcasted a video against the MLA but did not intend to humiliate him. He added that the news was published based on facts attained through research and sources. Furthermore, he mentioned that the video was removed after an FIR was filed against him.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
SC to hear pleas for reviewing wages of priests, temple staff
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the wages and other benefits given to priests, 'sevadars' and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions to the Centre and states to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the remuneration and other benefits given to the priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that priests and temple staff are employee' under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019. Petitioner submits that once the State assumes the administrative, economic and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises and denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21," it said.
Upadhyay said the cause of action accrued on April 4, when he went to Varanasi to attend a public programme and after performing 'Rudrabhishek' in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is controlled by the state, he came to know that even the minimum wages to live with dignity are not given to the priests and temple staff.
"Recently, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, priests and temple staff organised a large-scale protest demanding the minimum wages. Priests and temple staff are not getting even the minimum wage prescribed by the State for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This is a systemic exploitation. State is acting as a model employer through the endowments department, but violating the minimum wages Act and the directive principles of state policy (Article 43)," it said.
The plea further said the continued refusal to meet the minimum wages with the 2026 inflation-adjusted cost of living index has forced the petitioner to seek judicial intervention to prevent the further marginalisation of priests and temple staff.
Upadhyay further said the precarious nature of livelihood was starkly exposed on February 7, 2025, when a Tamil Nadu department issued a circular at the 'Dandayuthapani Swami Temple' in Madurai, strictly prohibiting priests from accepting 'dakshina' in 'aarti plates'.
"It is necessary to state that priests in such temples often receive no formal salary from the State and rely entirely on 'Dakshina'; the State's administrative order directly threatened them with starvation. Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State's arbitrary power over the survival of the priests. This is also a bitter truth that States are controlling lakhs of temples but not a single mosque or church," the PIL claimed.
The petition, alternatively, sought direction to the Centre and states to take appropriate steps for the welfare of priests, sevadars and other temple staff in the spirit of the Allahabad High Court's earlier judgments.
