The Supreme Court on Monday refused to pass any gag order on the media and declined to entertain a plea that had alleged that a religious congregation in the capital was being linked to the rise in Covid-19 cases across the country.

“We cannot curb the freedom of the press. We cannot pass any interim directions…,” Chief Justice S.A. Bobde told the petitioner, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind.

The organisation had moved the court for a directive to the authorities “to prevent the communalisation of the Nizamuddin Markaz issue by certain sections of the print and electronic media”.

It was also alleged that a deliberate attempt was on to “demonise the entire Muslim community” for the event.

Counsel Ejaz Maqbool said such reportage had led to violent incidents in some states.

The bench, which also included Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M. Shantanagoudar, said the organisation should ideally move the Press Council of India for remedy or file defamation cases against the media houses concerned.

Over 2,300 people from India and other countries had assembled for the Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi’s Nizamuddin last month with approval from multiple government agencies.

The health ministry had earlier this month indicated that at one point, a third of India’s cases could have been linked to the event, but a group of Indian scientists has said the available data don’t support the speculation.

In its petition, the Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind had said “certain sections of the media, instead of exercising restraint, reported the entire incident with communal flavour.

“It was thus apparent that the unfortunate incident of the Tablighi Jamaat was being used to demonise the entire Muslim community,” it said.