Wednesday 26 December 2012

Press Note : Regarding attack on journalists in Delhi


 I strongly condemn the recent attack on journalists by the police in Delhi during the recent protests against gangrape at India Gate and Rajpath. The journalists were only covering the events, which it is their fundamental right under the Constitution to do, and in fact that is their duty to the public. Many journalists were targeted by the police, their cameras broken, and many were physically assaulted. This a flagrant attack on democracy in the country, and it is not an isolated incident. Many such incidents are coming to my knowledge from different parts of the country.

Journalists act as agents of the people so that people get correct information about important events and thereby can form rational opinions, which is a sine qua non in a democracy. It is reported that some people in the crowds threw stones at the police, which was of course objectionable. But surely journalists did not throw stones. The police cannot take the plea that they could not distinguish between journalists and non journalists because the journalist were carrying cameras and other equipment which made them clearly distinguishable.

The governments of the Union and all states are therefore called upon to severely punish the police personnel involved in the attacks on journalists, and ensure that such  incidents do not recur in future, failing which it will be deemed that they are unable to run the government in accordance with the Constitution, and then the legal consequences in Articles 355 and 356 may follow. 

All medical aid to the journalists should also be given immediately.

    Justice Katju
Chairman, Press Council of India

56 comments:

  1. Thank you, Justice Katju. Well said. The job of journalists worldwide is difficult and at times lethal. Police authorities should be protecting journalists, not contributing to the problem.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The segment of journalism which forces reporters to undertake unnecessary risks is what Bill may have been referring to. In their quest for fame and upward mobility which is pegged to the number of sensational scoops and breaking news they can aggregate makes their work hazardous.

      While they may feel their work to be sacred duty to the public, reporters often tend to forget that police work is infinitely more important than theirs, which can and must wait in the interest of proper investigation.

      Delete
  2. Respected sir, well said and i totally agree with ur opinion. Since we r on this subject now could u please write something about the Police Constable who died during the protest?
    I think people should be reminded about the definition of protest, such incident reflects the lack of ingenuity among the crowd..

    my opinion are personal

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well said, Sir. The police has been behaving badly. The journalists were only doing their job. The police does not have a free ticket to beat up anyone, as they think. In a society like ours, women need to be respected both by the cops and by the people. The recent beating up of women protesters was also sad.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Job sir !!
    But could you please say something about the rumors that was spread on that day by NDTV (Barkha dutt) and CNN IBN that Subhash Tomar is dead. while he was alive that day !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sir, also to note that the Delhi police commissioner termed this incident as collateral damage smacks of arrogance & defiance!

    As also the unfortunate death of the police constable on duty, well I read in the Leading dailies today that the doctors at RML have said he died due to cardiac arrest & no external injuries were found upon his person contrary to what the police & govt. have been stating therefore could you kindly mention something regarding this incident too.

    As per the doctors statement it would amount to a hasty rush to file charges, deliberate framing of the few people arrested by the police in this matter & we would have as a nation failed them & would indeed by a shame upon our democracy!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are absolutely right sir. Journalist shows the current event to whole world and attack on them should not be taken lightly. It is attack on constitution right it must be taken seriously .

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is true indeed, sir, that the media is the tool of the people and the method of remaining informed and participating in government. We have had many instances when the right to free speech was threatened, and this was one of them. But at the same time, the people need to understand the meaning of peaceful protest.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sir, whether media is going "Rabhan's , Shri Krishna's or Gobels' way being Super intelligent but self annihilating ?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lori Geiger ( Nashville,TN)26 December 2012 at 13:01

    Such incidents will continue to happen in a Third World nation like India where they practice a disgusting religion like Hindooism .

    Hindoos relate to their caste & community and not their country . It makes more sense for India to disintegrate on caste and community basis . This is already happening in Pakistan .

    If India wants to make progress it needs to be divided urgently.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry Lori! You have very little knowledge of India. Indians DO NOT practice hinduism. Unlike other religions, hinduism is a way of life that has survived onslaught of aliens for centuries. It is no regimental like most other religions and it is entirely upto an individual to believe or not. It is perhaps the only religion with a high degree of tolerance. When you can see wine shops with boards reading "SRI VENKATESWARA WINE SORES', or BALAJI MILITARY HOTEL serving beef, not many will dare to put up a board with christian saints or arabic calligraphy. Don't be carried away by what you read about the fundamentalists (who are seen in all religions). Pakistan was never a democracy. It started as theocratic state,even though Jinnah was not a fanatic. His dying remarks were that "creation of pakistan' was the biggest mistake in his life.

      Delete
    2. Lori G (Nashville,TN)27 December 2012 at 13:33

      Actually you are living in a state of self denial . India is not one country . Hindoos are affiliated to their caste & community & hate whosoever are NOT from their own caste or community .

      It therefore makes more sense if Hindoos decide to separate on the basis of their caste & community willingly or else there will be much bloodshed if the disintegration is brought about by force like in the Arab world.

      Delete
    3. India was, is and will be full of informants (Mukhbeer) and traitors. India will disintegrate 'cos of its own vices (or virtues?) sooner or later. Hindoos were, are and will remain scattered. Actually there is less and less difference between Hindoos, and other religious community on the basis of "aahar (Food), Vihar (Associations with living and non living), Vichar (thoughts cherished), uchchaar (Pronounciations), and aachar (Deeds). What is appropriate in Hot deserts for muslims and cold deserts for Christians is all practiced by Hindus now a days. The difference is diminishing trend.

      Delete
    4. Moreover Hindus have worst leaders, worst on any and all scales of virtues, as compared with Muslim and christian leaders. RSS, BJP and Shivsena Leaders could not stand out on the basis of 5 abovesaid scales. Pre slavery weaknesses are still evident in modern days Hindus.

      Delete
    5. Who is the world class living Hindu Leader capable of taking on world challenges? This question is sufficient to gauge Hindu community.

      Delete
    6. Santosh,

      it is easy to highlight visible facts....
      Dharmas (not religions) of India and China are the only ancient dharmas surviving even today. History shows people of these two lands never invaded outside respective regions. Why?

      Delete
    7. hey you thing Lori or whatever you are masquerading as. Forget our religion. Just look inwards into the conduct of your own country and your people and look at what your religious ethos has done to many ,any parts of the world. To begin with, your ilk brutally exterminated many millions of Red Indians and stole their land. You enslaved and grossly ill-treated millions blacks and used them to build the foundations of what you enjoy today. Not content, you had atom bombed Japan into submission even though they had surrendered. You have used chemical weapons in Vietnam and committed a horrible genocide there. You have done such evil deeds in many parts of Latin America, much of where you Yanks are thoroughly despised. You have invaded and destroyed iraq, just to steal their resources so that you and your ilk can have a few dollars more to enjoy, a gluttony of yours that has cost almost a million Muslim deaths. I won't even go into Afghanistan. Just bugger off , you odious little creep!

      Delete
    8. hey you thing Lori or whatever you are masquerading as. Forget our religion. Just look inwards into the conduct of your own country and your people and look at what your religious ethos has done to many ,any parts of the world. To begin with, your ilk brutally exterminated many millions of Red Indians and stole their land. You enslaved and grossly ill-treated millions blacks and used them to build the foundations of what you enjoy today. Not content, you had atom bombed Japan into submission even though they had surrendered. You have used chemical weapons in Vietnam and committed a horrible genocide there. You have done such evil deeds in many parts of Latin America, much of where you Yanks are thoroughly despised. You have invaded and destroyed iraq, just to steal their resources so that you and your ilk can have a few dollars more to enjoy, a gluttony of yours that has cost almost a million Muslim deaths. I won't even go into Afghanistan. Just bugger off , you odious little creep!

      Delete
    9. Hindus glorify or don't take cognizance of criminals : http://www.firstpost.com/business/reliance-petroleum-insider-trading-case-gets-murkier-565775.html
      See the Hindu Business Leader who sells non vegeterian food to Hindus and alike.

      Delete
    10. Net worth of Hindu business leader is to sell shoes and non veg food and not the trustworthy products/services like Locks/ safe like godrej or 24 carat gold like Tatas.
      Hindu Leaders, be it business, political, bureaucratic, judiciary , media are not trustworthy to mass Hindus. Nobody will buy 24 carat Gold, Locks and Cash safes from a thief.
      This is present days Hindus.

      Delete
    11. Mr. Ratan Tata, Mr. Godrej (Non Hindus) are worthy of "Bharat Ratna". Which hindu businessman is worthy of it? The root cause is that Hindu businessmen are conditioned to "Behind every great fortune there is a crime". Hindus are emerging as either an egg thief or hen thief population, society, religion. Nothing more than that.
      Criminality is most intolerable in any other religions like muslims, christians etc

      Delete
  10. Day after day we as country are losing basic common sense. First consider the plight of police in that situation and then blame. Why so "agents of people" should jump into the mob? Today we have great technologies. Sitting in studio they can cover every inch of the movement. Many taking part in protest are tweeting. Then why do media needs first hand opinions on their cameras? The media are just sensation mongers.......
    A simple stupid question. If someone carries a microphone or camera should he/she be considered as Media person and allowed to interfere with police operation? Why the media did not cover incidents leading to collapse of constable Tomar? Shame on media.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Police are the extension or part of the lawlessness and barbaric mindset the society harbours. What else can we expect from a posse of ill educated and crude men even if they are briefly send through some drills and given code uniform to wear?

    As it is the fact women are more at risk in the police station than in a bus plying at night.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Please keep it up,We indians need a guide to lead this world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes sir! We are educated enough to read and understand English. We will FOLLOW. We will see neither forward nor other side. Why strain our brains. Let us join the chorus in blamign somebody.

      Delete
  13. first thing stop calling your self justice katju you are not a jutice any more... are you ??

    other thing agree with you police shouldnt have done it but they shouldnt have done it on any one ... they did what your favourite congress govt asked them to do

    so hoping you will speak about them to :X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed! Not fit to be justice without any type discretion.

      Delete
    2. Kundan,

      You have little or no sense. A judge retains his title till he is alive. Stop being ignorant. Hitler too asked his men to kill people. But in the Nuremberg trial, they were hanged, in spite of their claim that they were following orders of their superior. The problem with country like us is, there are too many ignorant, semi-literate people, who have started resorting to street justice. And social media has enabled monkeys like you with a keyboard and Internet.

      Delete
    3. Anon2: "too many ignorant, semi-literate..." could be a fact. But who is responsible for this? Two decades ago this type of people are called illiterate and country people. So the new term is 'medieval mindset'. The reason is simple that so-called education did not help Indians. Except of course in getting jobs. We lost the sense of society. We forgot that fact that our own actions will influence the rest of the society in someway or the other....
      You are right about monkeys too that includes you, me and Katju.

      Delete
  14. Surprised you are reacting to incidents where journalists from the electronic media were attacked. Yes Sir, journalists should not be attacked while they are carrying out their journalistic duties but is it ok for journalists to get hysterical while reporting and media channels to replay ad nauseum visuals of protester behaving violently.

    ReplyDelete
  15. repected sir,
    I totally agree with your words about the police attack on the journalists.It shows that our govt has become crual against protest like this.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sir, though I support freedom of press sometimes their stupidity and callousness knows no bounds.

    For example, please consider the case of the video footage from channels like NDTV when news broke about the victim being shifted from Safdarjung Hospital and flown abroad for the continuation of her treatment. In the clip, cameramen are desperately trying to get shots of the victim inside the ambulance! What sort of ethics is this?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sir Why cannot you declare that you are a Hard core leftist ? This is a general question indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Jinka blog hai wo kuch b nahi keh rah
    Log aise hi lade ja rahe hain hahahahhahaha
    Poor souls!

    ReplyDelete
  19. http://employmentnewss.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete
  20. nice job ...

    send cakes to chennai, cakes to chennai, cakes to chennai delivery, cakes home delivery to Chennai with www.chennaicakesdelivery.com.Online Shopping of cake for chennai delivery is secured and assured with us. You can order online cakes to chennai and all around India. Send birth day cake, wedding cake, anniversary cake with us.Same day cake delivery to Chennai. Our cakes are Delicious and freshly baked, made by the finest chefs in the country. Delight your loved ones with this simple and delicious combination.

    ReplyDelete
  21. An impressive post regarding regarding <Flowers Delivery in India.I just gave this to a colleague who is doing a little analysis on this topic. And he is very happy and thanking me for finding it. But all thanks to you for writing in such simple words. Big thumb up for this blog post

    ReplyDelete
  22. MKS Foods is sell a best Biryani and North Indian Foods in Noida . You want to take a Home Delivery Food Services Biryani and North Indian Foods in Noida.

    ReplyDelete
  23. It feels so nice to find somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. Really thankful to you for starting this.
    online florist in delhi

    ReplyDelete
  24. Real Estate 333acre.Com Offers a wide Range of Residential Commercial Properties in West Delhi - Search West Delhi Property for Sale Purchase,Buying Houses.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Buy Real Estate in Faridabad- Buy residential flats, apartments and homes in Greater Faridabad. We are leading real estate consultants and financial advisor of new property in Faridabad.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Home Delivery Food Services in Noida

    MKS Foods is sold a best Biryani and North Indian Foods in Noida. You want to take a Home Delivery Food Services Biryani and North Indian Foods in Noida. So call us MKS Foods in Spice World Mall in Noida. 2nd Floor, Spice world Mall Sec- 25A, Noida, U.P. Email: chef@mksfoods.in Ph: 08588863153/08588863155

    ReplyDelete
  27. Nice and awesome post related to this topic Really, this is good as i have ever read. Bring more to us... Online Florist Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  28. such a great post i like it it is so useful thanks to sharing us send flower to noida

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wow really a great post. I like this. I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. Buy Devotional Idols and Picture Frames

    ReplyDelete
  30. This is pankaj from http://www.newspatrolling.com and http://www.bigshoptree.com

    Would you like to work as our affiliate partner

    ReplyDelete
  31. am so happy to see your this blog such a great information thanks to sharing us and this blog is so useful thanks to sharing us.Buy Online Gifts in Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  32. i like your this blog such a great work am so happy to see your this blog and heads off your this blog thanks to sharing us keep it up god bless u and again thanks. Valentine Day Flower Delivery In Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  33. Such A Fantastic Work And Am So Impress To See Your This Blog Thanks To Sharing Us Same Day Valentine Day Flowers Delivery

    ReplyDelete
  34. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  35. i like your blog it is so interesting am so happy to see your blog thanks to sharing me
    Send Flower Online To India

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tank you for sharing this blog this is really good
    and its helped for many people easily can find like Flowers Delivery Mumbai on Google

    ReplyDelete
  37. I think, this is really very well information given about Regarding attack on journalists in Delhi. Thanks for giving this information in front of me.
    2 Bhk Apartments For Sale In Mumbai

    ReplyDelete
  38. Very Great
    Your Post Entertainment Me Thank For Shearing.
    Delhi model Escorts

    ReplyDelete
  39. If you want hot and seductive date with me visit my website. I Waiting For Your Call
    Delhi Escort Agency

    ReplyDelete