A petition has been filed in the Delhi HC seeking insurance cover to every journalist, reporter and media persons worth Rs.50 lakhs involved in field reporting on COVID-19 Pandemic.
The petition has been filed by Advocate Arpit Bhargava who has called the Courts attention to the risks involved in field reporting amidst the spread of novel coronavirus and has sought court’s direction to ensure safety and security of media persons by allowing work from home and to ensure basic sanitation facilities to media persons at workplace.
Bringing the courts attention to the exemption allowed to Media persons in order to disseminate information on COVID-19 to the public at large the petition states that “Media persons are working round the clock without caring for their own safety and are providing accurate information to public at large from time to time. Government by introducing Insurance scheme for health professionals has already acknowledged the efforts of doctors, nurses etc in the fight against Covid 19. Thus, welfare, safety and security of media persons also assume significance in this hour of crisis when cases of Covid 19 are increasing day by day in India.”
The petitioner has said that where the government has acknowledged the efforts of health professionals by introducing Insurance scheme, the welfare, safety and security of media persons also assume significance in this hour when cases of COVID-19 are increasing day by day.
The petitioner further seeks social security for the journalists and media persons by ensuring that there will be no salary cut for the journalists during the lockdown period.
Drawing attention the importance of media persons the petition states that “situation will become grim” if a media person meets with an accident while reporting on COVID-19 and the welfare of his family is not taken into consideration.
-India Legal Bureau
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