The main legal point established in the judgment is the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression, and the importance of the press in society.

1. A Journalist's effort to probe into Social behavior of capital sentence condemned prisoner in his death cell before he is actually hanged, and the State functionaries denial has resulted in this avoidable litigation. Penology, deterrent ,jurisprudence is another facet of this probe of Meharchand, who has murdered his brother, brother's wife and their three children, in a trifling family fued arising from partition amongst brothers.

2. Shri Prakash Sharma, the petitioner, is a Staff Reporter of 'Univarta'. Hindi being of UNI, a news agency of India. The petitioner has filed this writ petition with the following prayer :

"that your Lordships' may kindly be pleased to accept this writ petition and be further pleased to direct the respondents to permit the petitioner to interview the condemned prisoner Meharchand Jat who is at present lodged in Central Jail, Jaipur and is to be executed on 3. 5. 1983 at 5 a.m."
It is common ground that, one Mehar Chand Jat, Bamalvas, at present lodged in Central Jail, Jaipur who is resident of village Tehsil Nohar, District Sri ganganagar, is under sentence of death passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Nohar (District Sriganganagar) and confirmed by the High Court of Rajasthan at jodhpur. This death sentence has also been confirmed by the Supreme Court of India in appeal.

3. It is not in dispute that the execution of this death sentence is to take place in the Central Jat, Jaipur on 3rd May, 1983 at 5 a.m. The petitioner is anxious to conduct and hold an interview of Mehar Chand Jat, the condemned prisoner, in order to highlight the social behaviour. The added dimensions of the requirement of this interview, as prayed, is involvement of the press in the national debate about the propriety of the retention of death sentence in the statutes in the new context of various facets of reformatory jurisprudence.

4. The petitioner, therefore, tried to obtain the permission to conduct the interview of the condemned prisoner and with that intent went to the Central jail, Jaipur on 1st May, 1983, and contacted Shri Ramjeewan, the Jailer, on duty at that time. After hearing the petitioner, Shri Ramjeewan, the jailer informed the petitioner that he was unable to extend permission to him to interview the condemned prisoner as he was not empowered in that behalf. The petitioner thereafter was advised to contact the Superintendent. As advised, the petitioner contacted the Superintendent Shri Rai Singh Yadav at his residential premises and duly apprised him of his anxiety to interview the condemned prisoner. While declining the permission, the petitioner was advised to get in touch with either D. I. G. or I. G of Persons. The petitioner's efforts proved abortive as the DIG was out of station and the IG was out of the State. The chances of the petitioner to interview the condemned prisoner received further set back when he came to learn that even the Jail Minister was not in town.

5. Having failed to obtain the order of permission to have an interview of the condemned prisoner-Shri Mehar Chand Jat from the administrative authorities, the petitioner approached this Court under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner filed the writ petition today and since the execution of death sentence of the condemned prisoner is going to take place tomorrow, i.e, on 3rd May, 1983 at 5 a. m., the learned counsel for the petitioner, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, obtained the permission for listing the case today and in view of his application filed separately today, which he has moved after filing of the writ petition, the case has now been listed for consideration before this Court, today, in supplementary cause list.

6. A copy of this application was given to the learned Government Advocate, Shri M. I. Khan, who was prompt enough to call the jailer, Shri Kalyan Mal and also tried to obtin the information as far as possible.

7. Shri Dhankhar prayed that in view of the decision of their Lordships of the Supr