Nupur Sharma case SC judge wants social, digital media regulated

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 3

In the eye of the storm over his remarks holding suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma responsible for the violence following her alleged comments on Prophet Muhammad, Supreme Court judge Justice JB Pardiwala on Sunday said social and digital media should be regulated, especially in sensitive sub-judice matters.

Will lead to dangerous scenario

Attacks attempted at judges will lead to a dangerous scenario where the judges will have to pay greater attention to what the media thinks rather than what the law mandates. Justice JB Pardiwala, SC Judge

Addressing the 2nd Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium on “Vox Populi vs Rule of Law: Supreme Court of India”, Justice Pardiwala said, “Attacks attempted at judges will lead to a dangerous scenario....This puts the rule of law on the burner, ignoring the sanctity of the respect for the courts.”

He said social and digital media were primarily being used to express personalised agenda-driven opinions against judges, rather than doing a constructive critical appraisal of their judgments. Holding that trial by digital media amounted to undue interference in the judiciary’s work, he cautioned against crossing of the “Lakshman Rekha” by the media.

“In India, which cannot be classified as mature and an informed democracy, social and digital media is employed frequently to politicise purely legal and constitutional issues,” he said, adding Parliament must look into the issue of regulation of social and digital media, especially in the context of trials in sensitive cases.

Noting that it was “harming the judicial institution and lowering its dignity”, he said the remedy did not lie with social media but with higher courts. A vacation Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Pardiwala had on Friday refused to entertain Sharma’s plea seeking to club all FIRs against her and transfer them to Delhi and commented that she was responsible for the violence that followed her “irresponsible” comments.

A letter petition has since been filed seeking withdrawal of the judges’ oral observations.

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