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13th April 2023 (7 Topics)

A tale of two Supreme Court cases

Context:

  • Replying to a recent order passed by the Central government, the Supreme Court has mentioned that press must speak truth to power and give the citizens hard facts and enable choice for democracy to work well. National security cannot be used as a tool to deny remedies under the law.

Contradictory Judgements:

  • Judgement on Press: SC came out strongly in support of freedom of media, holding that the television channel MediaOne’s broadcasting licence could not be revoked for telecasting views critical of governmental policies. SC said Press must speak to the power.
  • Judgement on Opposition: Recently, the opposition complained about being targeted by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate in the filing of cases against them.
    • However, this petition was not entertained; the Court observed that it could not operate on generalities and that a solution had to be found in politics and Parliament.

Issues with the judgement:

  • Generic cases are more important: Generic situations are as important as specific cases, and sometimes more so. The number of such cases filed by the ED against politicians and their kin have gone up sharply in the last few years.
  • Prolonged incarceration before trial: Opposition is subjected to the one of prolonged incarceration before trial when custodial interrogation is not required for investigation.
  • Silencing opposition voice: Viable Opposition is at the heart of the political process. Its practical necessity is at the core of the democratic process, a de facto part of the basic structure. However, its voice is being silenced using the legal actions
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