In the eye of the storm over his remarks holding suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma responsible for the violence following her alleged comments on Prophet Muhammad, Supreme Court judge Justice JB Pardiwala on Sunday said social and digital media should be regulated, especially in sensitive sub-judice matters.
Addressing the 2nd Justice HR Khanna Memorial National Symposium on “Vox Populi vs Rule of Law: Supreme Court of India”, Justice Pardiwala said, “Attacks attempted at judges will lead to a dangerous scenario….This puts the rule of law on the burner, ignoring the sanctity of the respect for the courts.”
He said social and digital media were primarily being used to express personalised agenda-driven opinions against judges, rather than doing a constructive critical appraisal of their judgments. Holding that trial by digital media amounted to undue interference in the judiciary’s work, he cautioned against crossing of the “Lakshman Rekha” by the media.
