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Agreeing with the comments made by Supreme Court judge Justice JB Pardiwala on personal attacks on judges, former Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta said that judges should never be judged in the media.
Terming the trial of judges in the media as a “dangerous trend”, Justice Gupta said it could hamper judicial administration. He added that the Court should “come down hard” on such practices.
He spoke in an interview with Manu Sebastian, managing editor of LiveLaw. While commenting on developments in the recent cases against Muhammad Zubair and Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale, Justice Gupta said it was alarming that many magistrates were afraid to grant bail for fear of public opinion. This remark led to a discussion about the pressure created by media trials and social media campaigns on judges. Justice Pardiwala’s call for social media regulation to control interference in the judicial process was also mentioned.
“I will say that referees need to be trained to withstand that kind of pressure. But we are also human. After all, we are human. We no longer live, quote, in ivory towers. We are aware of what is happening around us,” Justice Gupta said.
He said the bench of Justices Suriya Kant and Pardiwala heard two high-profile cases last week. After their orders in the Maharashtra assembly case, there was a campaign against them by one particular section of the social media. The next day, after their statements in the Nupur Sharma case, there was a campaign against them by another section of the social media, which had supported them till then.
“Should judges be tried? As I said, even cases should not be tried in the media, but judges should never be tried. The moment we have a trial of judges by the media… it’s very easy to say we’ll keep our oaths, but we’re human beings. If our families and all are at risk, then some of us will not be able to withstand the pressure of the media process. This should be considered very seriously indeed. Because it is a very dangerous tendency to attribute motives to judges just because they ordered something or made a remark. The court should come down with a very firm hand. This should never be allowed because if respect for the institution of the judiciary is lost, then there may be no rule of law in the country,” Justice Gupta said.
Justice Gupta also cautioned that judges should exercise caution in their oral remarks in this age of minute-by-minute reporting of arguments.
“Because of this social media, even judges have to be a little cautious before making comments. I am not talking about these comments (of Justice Suriya Kant in the Nupur Sharma case). I am not in the Supreme Court case at all. very clear that in Nupur Sharma’s case, I don’t think the comments are redundant. But you also know and I also know that today there are YouTube videos of various high courts every day. When you see them, I feel the proceedings could have been conducted better – rather than threatening every lawyer that you will be sent behind bars – because it will be reported Judges in India should know that in the next year or two there will be proceedings of live, live broadcast. A little caution is needed,” he said.
“Magistrates should not restrict personal freedom in a careless manner” : Justice Deepak Gupta | The full text of the interview
You can watch a video of the interview here:
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