NAGPUR, Nov 23: The privileges enjoyed by legislators and Parliamentarians should be codified and the Contempt of Court Act should be reviewed, demanded senior journalist and editor of Marathi daily Loksatta, Arun Tikekar.

Tikekar was participating in an `informal talk' programme organised by Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ). Regarding the problems faced by journalists writing about the conduct of legislators, he said the time has come for codification of their privileges. It is in the interest of freedom of press that the privileges should be codified, he said, citing instances of misuse of authority by legislators.

He was of the opinion that in the absence of codified privileges, journalists writing about the misdeeds of legislators or even reproducing the charges levelled against a legislator by another, are harassed. More often than not, they face breach of privilege notices. Journalists also land in trouble while commenting on judiciary due to the Contempt of Court Act.

Most legislators are opposed to codification and judges do not favour review of the Contempt Act, he said.

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