The Supreme Court has asked states to devise an appropriate policy for media briefing by police after considering the manual prepared by a senior lawyer assisting it as amicus curiae (friend of the court). A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing a batch of petitions regarding the modalities followed by the police in conducting media briefings where a probe is in progress. The top court also directed the registry to upload the manual on its website within two weeks.

Earlier, in an order on January 15, the bench noted the laborious exercise undertaken by the amicus, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and said the police manual had been prepared after taking into account the perspectives of the Centre and international practices. The 60-page manual, divided into four parts, said its purpose is to establish a principled, rights-compatible and investigation-safe framework for communications between the police, public and media.

The top court in 2023 had directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to prepare a comprehensive manual on media briefings by police personnel about criminal cases.