The Supreme Court had long back held that the ‘trials by media’ not only infringe upon the right to privacy of an individual and lower his or her reputation but also vitiate the administration of justice by courts, and laid certain guidelines to curb them.
This is what Kadapa district principal judge G. Sridevi re-emphasized in her order in the petition filed by YSRCP Kadapa district president K. Suresh Babu against the comments being made on MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy with regard to the murder of former MP Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy in election campaigns of the opposition parties.
Taking strong objection to casting aspersions on them, Ms. Sridevi observed that the rules designed to regulate journalistic conduct are inadequate to prevent the encroachment of civil rights, which makes the role of the judiciary pivotal in safeguarding the rights of the accused.
The ‘public courts’ (Praja courts) interference with the court proceedings overlooks the vital gap between an ‘accused’ and a ‘convict’ thereby putting at stake the golden principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the judge asserted.
However, a prominent TDP leader questioned through a message on ‘X’ why Jagan Mohan Reddy and his cronies went to the court and got an injunction against the passing of remarks of the murder in his family.
