Commenting on pending cases in an attempt to sway the judges and their outcome amounting to contempt of court, Attorney General KK Venugopal filed before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
According to the senior law enforcement officer, the Supreme Court has already held that any attempt to affect a case sub judice will amount to contempt.
Venugopal commented forcefully on the current state of the media and urged the court to step in and examine the role of the media.
“The print and electronic media freely comment on pending cases in an attempt to influence the outcome of such matters. It amounts to contempt of court,” said the attorney general, while attending court in the 2009 contempt of court case against the prominent lawyer Prashant Bhushan. .
Venugopal presented before a court headed by judge AM Khanwilkar that the trend in the media has taken a very dangerous proportion.
When a defendant’s bail bond is approaching, the AG added, a television channel plays conversations very damaging to the defendant.
“When Rafale was going to be heard by this court, we had great articles and comments with excerpts from certain documents that were published on the morning of the hearing day,” lamented the AG.
He said that the higher court, in deciding the issues related to what kind of speech and postings may constitute contempt, should also consider these issues.
However, Chief Counsel Rajeev Dhavan, representing Bhushan, was not in favor of the proposal to expand the scope of this award.
“The issue of the sub judice has already been addressed by this court in the Sahara ruling. The deliberation on these issues on the media will further broaden the scope of this case when we already had compact problems,” he said.
Dhavan also quoted Lord Reid as asking, “When Shylock’s case is open, can we tell the press not to talk about it?”
For his part, lead attorney Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of Tarun Tejpal, who was the editor of Tehelka magazine when Bhushan’s controversial statements on the judiciary were published, agreed that the contempt law must be upheld. in light of the new communication system. .
The court then adjourned the hearing to November 4, asking AG to rephrase the issues in consultation with the other attorneys.
The court had also requested lead attorney Harish Salve, who has appeared in this matter as the amicus curiae since 2009, to assist the court at the next date.
The declaration of contempt against Bhushan began after his interview with Tehelka magazine in which he made certain controversial statements related to judicial corruption.
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