Retd Justice M S Liberhan, head of the panel probing the demolition of Babri Masjid, has recommended a strong statutory regulator for the media and licences for journalists in his report tabled today in the Parliament.
The home ministry, in its Action Taken Report (ATR), commented that "the I&B and law ministries will look into the desirability and feasibility" of these proposals.
Justice Liberhan, who slammed reporters at his Chandigarh residence on Monday for asking whether he had leaked the report to the press, expressed concern in his report for lack of any competent authority to address "complaints from persons aggrieved of questionable reporting and effectively punishing a mischievous journalist".
In his recommendations, he said: "I strongly recommend that a statutory body be set up to oversee the media in the country. It is highly desirable that journalists ought to be granted licences, just like the practitioners of other learned professions and ought to be subjected to disciplinary action, including suspension of the rights to work as journalists on grounds of proven professional misconduct."
The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, cried foul over these suggestions. The Congress did not say anything on this particular issue.