Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Friday called for saving the judiciary from motivated and targeted attacks on social media. He said that the onus lies on the central agencies to deal with the synchronised, sponsored attacks against judges on social media.
“An area of grave concern for the judiciary is the increasing attacks on judges. Physical attacks on judicial officers are on the rise. There are also attacks on the judiciary on social media. These attacks appear to be sponsored and synchronised. Law enforcement agencies must deal with them effectively. The government is expected to create a secure environment to let judicial officers work effectively,” he said while speaking at the constitution day celebration organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA)
Central agencies should deal with synchronised, sponsored attacks against judges on social media: CJI NV Ramana
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) November 26, 2021
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The CJI further added: ” We are all ultimately part of one large family. Protect the institution from motivated and targeted attacks. Do not shy away from standing up for what is right, and against what is wrong.”
Further urging young lawyers to respect the seniors, the CJI said, “Please respect and pay due regards to your seniors,” adding that they have immense experience, knowledge and wisdom, which no amount of book learning can provide.
“Perhaps, the most important feature of the Indian Constitution is the fact that it provides a framework for debate. It is through such debate and discussion that the nation ultimately progresses, evolves, and achieves higher levels of welfare for the people,” the CJI said.
He added that “the most direct and visible players in this process are, of course, the lawyers and judges of this country”.
The Chief Justice noted that the judiciary “has lived up to the faith reposed in it by the Constituent Assembly” in terms of its duty in relation to the executive. The purpose of judicial involvement, according to CJI Ramana, is to prod the administration toward unresolved public issues, not to supplant its duty.
The Chief Justice emphasised the importance of establishing state and national judicial infrastructure authority, for which the CJI solicited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assistance, who was also present during the event.
Recalling the contributions of legendry lawyers – Mahatma Gandhi, Dr BR Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Patel, and Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer – in India’s freedom struggle and the making of the Constitution CJI Ramana exhorted lawyers to take up cases pro-bono whenever possible.
After judges complain of being ignored, CBI seeks Interpol help to nab 2 social media trolls
It may be noted that earlier in August 2021, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana had lamented that judges were not on priority for the investigating agencies and that their complaints of being harassed and intimidated were not being important enough to be addressed despite the involvement of specialised bodies like the CBI in the investigation.
In response, the CBI in November had sought Interpol’s help for the deportation of two men who are currently believed to be in the United States in connection with a case involving derogatory remarks posted against judges and judiciary on social media platforms.
According to the sources close to the CBI, the agency had arrest warrants issued against the two suspects and had also filed six more charge sheets in the case. About 6 people from different places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been already arrested and sent to judicial custody in relation to the case. They are accused of making disparaging remarks against judges of the Andhra Pradesh High Court over certain verdicts.
Besides the 6 arrested, the CBI had arrested another 5 accused in July and August and also filed five separate charge sheets against them.
In addition to this, the probe agency had also questioned Lok Sabha MP Nandigam Suresh and former MLA Amanchi Krishnamohan, both belonging to YSR Congress, in the case. In a separate case in October 2020, the Andhra Pradesh HC had fumed over derogatory posts made by YSRCP leaders after they had accused the judges of being ‘partial’. The YSRCP leaders were criticising the HC after its request for a CBI probe into the ‘Amaravati scam’ was rejected by the High Court.
CBI took over the case in November 2020 and filed a case against 16 people accused of making derogatory remarks against the judges and the Indian judiciary. Until then, the CID, Andhra Pradesh, was probing the matter and had filed 12 FIRs in the case. The original FIRs were registered on complaints of Registrar General of high court of Andhra Pradesh. After taking over the case, the CBI had gotten social media companies to delete the contentious posts, along with getting YouTube channels blocked from the social media platforms and public domain.
