Media Trial, Public Comments About Pending Cases Affecting Justice System: Hon’ble Mr Justice AS Oka
“Biased views being propagated by media are affecting the people, weakening democracy and harming the system. In this process, justice delivery gets adversely affected. By overstepping and breaching your responsibility, you are taking our democracy two steps backwards. Of late, we see the media running kangaroo courts, at times on issues even experienced judges find difficult to decide. Ill-informed and agenda driven debates on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy. In my humble view, in the absence of judicial review, people’s faith in our Constitution would have diminished. The Constitution is ultimately for the people. The judiciary is the organ which breathes life into the Constitution. Doing justice is not an easy responsibility. It is becoming increasingly challenging with each passing day. At times, there are also concerted campaigns in media, particularly on social media against judges.”
– Hon’ble Former CJI Mr NV Ramana while speaking at a lecture in Ranchi.
It is extremely significant to note that the Supreme Court Judge – Hon’ble Mr Justice Abhay on February 1, 2025 while speaking his mind at a webinar that was organized by the All India Lawyers Association For Justice on “Without Fear Or Favour – Towards A Responsible And Reliable Judiciary In India” minced absolutely just no words to state in no uncertain terms that media trial and public comments regarding pending criminal cases affects justice delivery system as it puts pressure on the judges. This is known all too very well but we see no concrete action taken to check it. He also underscored that public debate about court cases is acceptable, but critiques should be based on legal grounds.
There can be just no refuting the irrefutable fact that it is high time and a major overhaul is needed most desperately in the manner of distribution of High Court Benches in different States hinging on the population, size and pendency of cases because currently we see that most irrationally there has been allotment on this count which is totally incomprehensible at least now when 100 years of independence is just at a stone throw away distance! It makes absolutely just no sense at all that the most populated State of India that is Uttar Pradesh with maximum number of pending cases has just one High Court Bench only and as if this was not enough, we see most horribly that the one Bench at Lucknow created so close to Allahabad where High Court itself is located in Eastern UP! Adding fuel to fire further, we see that the litigants of 30 districts of West UP attached with not even Lucknow which falls more than 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, brazen throttling of justice and worst of all makes the most horrendous mockery of poorest litigants of West UP who cannot afford to travel by plane and have to travel again and again to attend court hearings by train like a donkey or a slave all the way right till Allahabad most foolishly!
This despite the irrefutable fact that it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP as conceded on record by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself which alone explains why it recommended a permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP at Agra yet after nearly 50 years we see most astoundingly just no action taken on it! Not just this, we saw how maximum three High Court Benches were recommended for undivided UP yet not one created which led to people of hilly areas giving momentum to separate Statehood as litigants had to travel thousands of kilometers like a ass all the way again till Allahabad most horribly! On the contrary, States like Maharashtra which has much less pending cases and which already had multiple High Court Benches was given one more at Aurangabad based on recommendations of same Justice Jaswant Singh Commission just like for Madurai in Tamil Nadu and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal for just 5 districts!
The moot question that still looms large: Is Centre eagerly waiting for West UP to tread on the lines of Uttarakhand? There is good and strong reason to believe that Centre has discriminated most wrongly against the most populated State of India that is Uttar Pradesh which has maximum population with maximum pending cases and which should have maximum High Court Benches but leave alone maximum Centre didn’t allow even multiple High Court Benches which ultimately led to partition of Uttar Pradesh in 2000! My whole point is: For how long will Centre allow this worst perpetration of injustice in distribution of High Court Benches in different States making an open, worst and most shameful discrimination with no single bona fide argument to support this sinister, surreptitious and shameless discrimination which makes a complete mockery of the very concept of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution and throttles the basic right of litigants to get cheap and affordable justice at doorsteps? How can Centre for more than 15 long years kick out the most historic recommendations of the 230th Report of Law Commission of India for creation of more High Court Benches in States that was prepared and submitted by legal experts under Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge – late Dr AR Lakshmanan?
How can anyone on this earth ever deny that none other than late Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee whose 100th birth anniversary was celebrated on December 25, 2024 all across the nation had in 1986 most forcefully demanded the setting up of a High Court Bench in West UP right inside Parliament as Leader of Opposition? Even former PM Late Mr Rajiv Gandhi had wanted to set up a High Court Bench in West UP but as a rift had developed between Meerut and Agra as place where it should be set up, this most pressing issue was not addressed and was receded to the backburner most unfortunately!
The only durable solution is creation of High Court Bench in West UP! Denial of even a single Bench in West UP is wholly unjustified! Let us not forget that none other than UP CM Shri Yogi Adityanath himself had even sent a written recommendation to the Allahabad High Court in January 2024 but most perplexingly withdrew it the very next day without disclosing that under what circumstances it was withdrawn!
The moot question here is: Why has merit been allowed to become the worst casualty in allotment of High Court Benches in different States? Why Apex Court has never intervened on such a most pressing issue which directly concerns the judiciary itself is the biggest conundrum that still remains unaddressed? Fact is, West UP should have been given a Bench way back in 1947 or 1948 but what we witnessed on ground was that Allahabad which had High Court in Eastern UP since centuries was allotted Bench also at Lucknow so near to Allahabad in 1948 more than 76 years ago and nowhere else even though majority of pending cases are from West UP which also contributes more than 75% to State’s economy yet accorded most step-motherly treatment by being deprived from having even a single Bench which makes a complete sham of our democracy as equality in distribution of High Court Benches even in different regions of the same State has been flouted so openly as we see in UP where Eastern UP alone enjoys the unfettered monopoly of having both High Court and a single Bench so very near to each other which is completely antithetical to the very concept of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution!
What is worse is that Centre did not do anything to ensure that a High Court Bench is created in West UP or any other region of UP other than East UP! What is even most worst is that even Supreme Court on such a critical issue directly concerning and affecting judiciary did not do anything at all to ensure that UP and especially West UP was not mercilessly discriminated against without any rhyme or reason on allotment of Bench! The whole world saw how Supreme Court got so angry when cheating took place in a Mayor election in Chandigarh but what baffles me most is why the same Supreme Court maintains a deafening silence when it comes to worst discrimination perpetrated against big States like UP and Rajasthan which both have only one and most disgracefully lawless Bihar has none just like West UP and nothing on earth can be more atrocious than this and still has gone completely unchecked, unnoticed and unattended by the top court for nearly 80 long years! Most disgusting indeed!
It is a no-brainer that which State needs more High Court Benches yet most unfortunately we see that Centre is just not at all prepared to see the clear writing on the wall nor is Apex Court prepared to ruffle the feathers of Centre on such a most pressing issue directly affecting the poorest litigants who become the worst casualty due to no Bench being created in needy regions like West UP, Purvanchal and Bundelkhand! One says this not with glee but with sorrow: Centre has never evinced any interest leave alone resolve in addressing this long pending issue since 1947 and Supreme Court too has not taken suo motu cognizance of it which is even more depressing to note!
Having said this, I must concede that Hon’ble Mr Justice AS Oka is absolutely right to remark that, “If a Judge goes by social media or media pressure, then what they will grant is moral conviction.” He also very rightly conceded that, “A judicial officer who enters the system is also a human being, and if he faces such repeated complaints, it is bound to affect him.” He referenced the statements that were made by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee regarding the RG Kar rape and murder case and explicitly observed that, “We have situations where a Chief Minister makes a statement that the accused will be hanged when investigation is underway. This puts some pressure on judicial officers.” This must definitely end now and political leaders and CM and PM must all refrain on commenting from any issue which is pending before any court so that Judges don’t feel pressurized to decide in a particular direction only! Judges also should not shy away from giving bold judgments like implementation of recommendations of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission about 50 years ago for a permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP for which lawyers have been going on strike every Saturday since last about 45 years apart from so many other strikes like strike for even 6 months as in 2001 from July to December and so also for 6 months in 2014-15 and strike for a month or so many times. Even former CJI Mr Justice Ranjan Gogoi in November 2018 while hearing a PIL had conceded the dire need of a Bench in West UP but left it to Centre to decide which has shown just no interest in addressing it!
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