Ex-CJI Sanjiv Khanna: Must erect guardrails to prevent prejudice creeping into institutions

“For both of us (media and judiciary), discipline lies in recognising and resisting bias and prejudices… plurality is the foundation to the character of our institution… no institution tasked with protecting liberty can afford to be a single unitary voice. If that becomes the case, nothing will separate rationality from propaganda,” he said. Noting that “propaganda has a tendency to rupture society”, Justice Khanna emphasised that reporting is healthy only when not polluted by “prejudice, bias or polarisation”, and urged use of respectful language.

At the event, journalist Jeff Joseph Paul Kadiccheeni was awarded the Prem Bhatia Award for Excellence in Environmental Journalism-2025 and Parth M N was felicitated for excellence in political journalism.

Justice Khanna said “courts must guard against temptations to censor merely because speech is uncomfortable… the responsibility of the constitutional adjudication lies not in endorsing a majoritarian morality… media often is the first one to uncover errors in public functioning. If we silence that voice we lose a key instrument of democratic correction.”