True Crime Podcasts as Digital Media: Balancing Public Interest, Free Expression and the Presumption of Innocence in India

ABSTRACT
The increase in the number and popularity of a lot of true crime podcasts contributed to the change in the public's interaction with criminal proceedings and created serious issues in relation to constitutional rights, such as one's right to the presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial. The paper investigates whether deficiencies of India's current legal system are suitable for controlling the impact of serial broadcasts on society. A doctrinal approach is utilized in order to study constitutional safeguards, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, court ruling precedents, the Law Commission of India's Report No. 200, and information from Australia's The Teacher's Pet podcast. The paper argues that the nature of true crime podcasts is fundamentally different than that of the traditional media as it enables audience immersion into the content of the podcasts, as well as the ongoing availability of the podcast series and the possibility of influencing the public opinion before the court's pronouncement. Nonetheless, the discrepancies mentioned do not offer an avenue for a distinct regulatory framework. On the contrary, India's present constitutional structure according to Articles 19 and 21 and the jurisprudence of contempt is ample enough on its own if it is applied correctly. The paper brings out the need of adapting to the constitution instead of resorting to further laws to safeguard the freedom of expression as well as the presumption of innocence in the digital world.