The Tehelka Commission and Press Freedom1

The Chief Justice A. S. Anand nominated a retired judge of the Supreme Court to head a Commission of Inquiry on the tehelka.com exposé. It was unfortunate that retired judge was given the charge of enquiring into a highly political matter. The terms of reference seemed to be to probe into the credentials of those who made the charges. This is highly unusual. It would effectively muzzle the press as such commissions could be set up by the government every time a publication exposes some wrong doing by the government.