Mail Bag - आरबीआई - Reserve Bank of India
Mail Bag
"In a recent incident of wild life poaching involving a film actor a widespread outcry in media in support of the wild life created an adverse environment for the accused from the point of view of principles of natural justice." Perception of an under-lying predeliction of the author for the cause of the "class", in this sentence, propells to pen these few lines. |
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It is possible to take a stance that the "media outcry" was all intented to pave the way for creation of proper environment for a peaceful life for the endangered wild animals (wild life is a misnomer in a manner of speaking, for all the creatures in the forest are not in fact wild including the one that got killed by the sport). To elaborate let us admit that ours is an unjust society with the system - administration, judiciary, police, education, art and sport and what not - divided into two : one for the rich, powerful and mighty and the other for the low and downtrodden. Cine stars and cricketers are the icons for whose friendship and goodwill the powers that be unabashedly pine for. That being the case even if a member of the first group gets involved in a murder case, the system tends to go easy on them and they go scotfree. Don't you agree? Look around. Should we prefer to be under the illusion that the film star in question would have been booked for the crime under the normal due process of law? But for the focussed media attention the event would also have been flushed down. Even at this stage one is skeptical about the outcome! |
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Let us be honest to admit that the media do yeomen service to the society by contributing" to keep the path", as Lord Denning put it, "to justice" clear of obstructions which would impede it". |
It is also unfair as it is unjust to suggest that judiciary would be unable to segregate chaff from the grain and would be severely affected by statements made to the media. The judiciary has more often than not proved itself equal to the challenges. Let us be proud of its competence. |
A fellow traveller |
1. Post Script : The relevance of the subject matter of the editorial in a house journal is unclear. |
2. Please ask the proof reader to hold the printers devil at bay. |
Ed Note : Dispensation of justice is not the function of media. If at all there exists any claim to the contrary, application of principles of natural justice is conspicuously absent. That was the tenor of our editorial. We are not doubting, the competence of judiciary, which ironically at times is also a victim of trial by media. We fail to understand why this issue is not considered relevant by the reader for the editorial of a house journal of this nature. |