The defence lawyers of the accused had contended that the media report would prejudice their case. (Representational image)

Mumbai: To encourage and stress the importance of education, the state government has decided to give SSC board certificates to school dropouts who complete two-year vocational courses.

Students who do not continue regular studies after class 8 due to various reasons can still obtain the SSC board certificate after completing vocational training courses prescribed by the government. 

The decision by the Skill Development Department (SDD) is on the cards and will be presented before the cabinet for final approval. 

There are students who are not able to complete their regular studies due to lack of interest or personal issues and the skill development department wants to encourage these students to take two-year vocational training that can help them in earning employment. They can avail SSC certificate which will be useful, said an official from the SDD. 

The defence lawyers of the accused had contended that the media report would prejudice their case. They had alleged that media has already misreported this case by publishing reports claiming that Judge B. H. Loya’s death was unnatural, a claim which the family of Judge Loya has denied. Judge Loya was handling the Sohrabuddin encounter case when he died.

However, Justice Revati Mohite-Dere did not accept this contention, saying the matter of Judge Loya’s death has nothing to do with the trial that is dealing with the death of Sohrabuddin. While lifting the ban, Justice Mohite-Dere further observed that mere apprehension of the accused that media may sensationalise court proceedings was not a sufficient ground to ban reporting the trial.

Justice Dere was hearing petitions filed by a group of city-based journalists and Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists (BUJ) challenging the CBI order banning media from reporting the Sohrabuddin encounter trial. The petitioners’ lawyers Abad Ponda, Mihir Desai, Abhinav Chandrachud, Varsha Bhogle and Shailendra Singh had contended before the HC that criminal courts do not have inherent power to gag the media and Justice Dere accepted this argument. She also held that the CBI court had overreached its powers by issuing the gag order. According to HC judge, under the CrPC, only high courts and the Supreme Court can issue such prohibitory orders, that too in rare cases and for a limited period of time.

Justice Dere also said, “The rights of the press are inherent with the constitutional right of freedom of expression. In reporting from an open trial, the press not only makes use of its own right, but serves the larger purpose of making such information available to general public.”

The judge added, “The demands of a democratic society are that it must know what is happening in the country.” According to the judge, the press is the most powerful watchdog of the society. Currently, 23 accused are facing trial in the Sohrabuddin encounter case and the trial began on November 29 last year, the day media was banned from reporting it. Within two months, 40 witnesses have been examined by the prosecution, of them 28 have been declared hostile.