http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Jaipur/Court_gag_on_media_coverage_of_Amber_proceedings/articleshow/4152188.cms
Court gag on media coverage of Amber proceedings 19 Feb 2009, 0503 hrs IST, TNN JAIPUR: In an unusual move, a division bench of Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday passed a gag order on print and electronic media, restraining them from publishing any court proceedings on the ban on shooting of the Salman Khan-starrer `Veer' at the historical Amber Fort. The media gag order was passed on the request of the counsel for film producer, Vijay Galani. The order came on the day the amicus curiae presented to the court his findings on the alleged inaction of the state government as well as the alleged breach of rules by the state authorities in restoration work at the 16th Century monument. A bench of acting Chief Justice R C Gandhi and Justice M N Bhandari is at present hearing the Veer case. The court was annoyed at the "sensationalising" of the matter by the media and drew attention to the the news coverage when the court happened to hear the habeas corpus petition of NGO SATYA for the production of the Japanese surrogate child Manjhi. When the issue of Manjhi's nationality was being debated (her surrogate mother was Indian, but the sperm-donor father Japanese), the division bench of Rajasthan High Court headed by Justice Gandhi had issued showcause notices to the state authorities on the matter but the media had reported that the court had ordered the baby to be produced in court. Because of these "unwarranted" and "misleding" media reports, the Supreme Court judges had to constiute a special bench to hear the matter at their residence and stay the proceedings in the high court, dragging the entire litigation to the Supreme Court. Perhaps in order to prevent the Amber case going the Manjhi way, the court took this unusual step of ordering a gag on the media's coverage of the proceedings in the Amber case.
