Team News Riveting
Ranchi, July 23
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said agenda-driven debates and kangaroo courts being run by the media were detrimental to the health of the democracy.
“Media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases,” he said while delivering the inaugural lecture instituted in the memory of Justice Satya Brata Sinha here on Saturday. The media trials affect the fair functioning and independence of the judiciary, the CJI said.
Justice Ramana said biased views being propagated by media were affecting the people, weakening democracy, and harming the system. “In this process, justice delivery gets adversely affected. By overstepping and breaching your responsibility, you are taking our democracy two steps backward,” he added.
Print media still has a certain degree of accountability, the CJO said, adding that electronic media has zero accountability as what it shows vanishes into thin air.
At times, there are concerted campaigns in media, particularly on social media, against judges, he said. Owing to the frequent transgressions and consequent social unrest, there is a growing demand for stricter media regulations and accountability, the CJI said.
