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New Delhi:
India’s Chief Justice NV Ramana on Saturday delivered searing criticism of the electronic and social media, saying they were doing a disservice to democracy.
Here’s what he said:
- There are concerted campaigns in social media against judges
- Judges may not react immediately. Please don’t mistake it to be a weakness or helplessness.
- Slams electronic media, social media; criticises media trials
- 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 fake
- Media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases.
- We see the media running kangaroo courts, at times on issues even experienced judges find difficult to decide
- Ill-informed and agenda driven debates on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy
- Biased views being propagated by media are 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 backwards
- Print media still has certain degree of accountability
- Whereas, electronic media has zero accountability as what it shows vanishes into thin year
- Still worse is social media.
- CJI urges media to self-regulate
- It is best for the media to self-regulate and measure their words
- I urge electronic and social media to behave responsibly
- Electronic media should rather use their voice to educate people and energise nation
