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Journalism of Courage
In his address at the CII8217;s annual session the Prime Minister rightly emphasised the need to abstain from ostentatious consumption. We daily witness the disgusting spectacle of lakhs being spent by some plutocrats on weddings with pomp and splendour in sharp contrast to the miserable conditions of the majority of our people. I have constantly advocated, alas in vain, a tax on lavish and ostentatious expenditure. The Prime Minister8217;s warning that growing income inequalities could lead to social unrest could not be more timely. To many the taste of democracy is bitter because its fullness is denied to them. 8220;We can have democracy or we can have concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We cannot have both,8221; as was said by the great American judge Louis Brandeis. Securing social justice is a moral imperative for any democracy. And without social justice, democracy is a fashionable myth.
Courageous judicial sentinels
The State of Israel has been engaged in a war against its existence ever since its establishment. The Israeli judiciary has had to balance claims of national security with the human rights of terrorists. One of its most eminent and courageous Supreme Court judges, Justice Aharon Barak, declared in a judgment: 8220;The saying that 8216;when the cannons speak, the Muses are silent8217; is incorrect . . . The reason underlying this approach is much deeper. It is an expression of the difference between a democratic State fighting for its survival and the battle of terrorists rising up against it. The State is fighting for the law and for the law8217;s protection. The terrorists are fighting against and in defiance of the law.8221; The same sentiment is reflected in the statement of Barak8217;s colleague Justice Mishael Cheshin : 8220;Even when the trumpets of war sound, the rule of law will make its voice heard.8221;
The dissent of Justice Khanna in the ADM Jabalpur case, embodies the same spirit. It was pronounced during the thick of the June 1975 spurious emergency and knowing fully well that he would be superseded as the Chief Justice of India, which shamefully did happen. This infamous majority judgment is now consigned to the dustbin of history and there is universal admiration for our courageous Justice Khanna.
Contempt and freedom of the press
The Southeast Asia Defence Litigation Conference in Hong Kong organised by the University of Hong Kong included journalists from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia. Contempt power exercised by judges in their respective jurisdictions was highlighted as a serious restriction on freedom of the press because in these jurisdictions, truth is not permitted as a defence to contempt actions which are frequently initiated by judges whose competence and integrity are questioned in the media. Consequently, self-censorship is generated and media persons are deterred from exposing judicial misconduct.
There were cheers when I mentioned about the amendment to our Contempt of Courts Act, which now permits a bona fide defence of truth in public interest. Hence the old case law, which altogether ruled out the defence of truth in contempt action, is not applicable. No doubt the statements made about a judge8217;s competence and integrity should not be malicious or made with knowledge of their falsity in which case the contemnor would be rightly penalised. Judges now can no longer take shelter under the shield of contempt power to prevent exposure of their misdeeds and thus foreclose their accountability.
