Agenda-driven media running kangaroo courts, says Chief Justice Ramana

Illinformed and agendadriven kangaroo courts on television debates and social media on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said on SaturdayOf late we see media running kangaroo courts at times on issues even experienced judges find difficult to decide Illinformed and agendadriven debates on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy said the CJI while delivering the Justice SB Sinha Memorial Inaugural Lecture in RanchiAlso read Political opposition translating into hostility not sign of healthy democracy CJI RamanaOn the issue of the rising number of media trials CJI Ramana said It cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases He said New media tools have enormous amplifying ability but appear to be incapable of distinguishing between the right and the wrong the good and the bad and the real and the fakeChief Justice Ramana also cautioned that the judges may not react immediately and this should not be mistaken for weakness or helplessnessBiased views being propagated by media are affecting the people weakening democracy and harming the system In this process justice delivery gets adversely affected the CJI addedBy overstepping and breaching your responsibility you are taking our democracy two steps backwards Print media still has a certain degree of accountability Whereas electronic media has zero accountability as what it shows vanishes into thin air Still worse is social media he saidThe CJI also highlighted that these days there is an increasing number of physical attacks on judgesCan you imagine a judge who has served on the bench for decades putting hardened criminals behind the bar once he retires loses all the protection that came with the tenure Judges have to live in the same society as the people that they have convicted without any security or assurance of safety the CJI pointed outThe CJI also commented on the longstanding matter of contention of the judicial review of legislative and executive actionsOne gets to hear that judges being unelected should not get into legislative and executive arenas But this ignores the Constitutional responsibilities that is placed on the judiciary Judicial review of legislative and executive actions is an integral part of the Constitutional scheme I would go as far as to state that it is the heart and soul of the Indian Constitution In my humble view in the absence of judicial review peoples faith in our Constitution would have diminished he saidOnly a flourishing and vibrant democracy can lead our country on the path of peace progress and global leadership And a strong judiciary is the ultimate guarantee for the rule of law and democracy CJI Ramana saidThe Chief Justice also stressed that it becomes a challenge to accept the false narrative surrounding the supposed easy life of a judgeThere exists a misconception in the minds of the people that Judges stay in ultimate comfort work only from 10 am to 4 pm and enjoy their holidays Such a narrative is untrue When false narratives are created about the supposed easy life led by Judges it is difficult to swallow Justice Ramana further statedJustice NV Ramana also congratulated the judiciary of Jharkhand for marking the golden jubilee of setting up of the Circuit Bench of Patna and extended wishes to the children who received scholarship under Project ShishuThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever