India
To save reputations, Sibal opposes livestreaming, but SC rejects request | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday made an impassioned plea to stop live streaming of the Supreme Court suo motu procedure about the rape and murder incident at RG Kar Hospital According to him, the remarks of judges on this highly emotive issue tarnish the reputation of lawyers appearing on behalf of the West Bengal government.
Sibal told a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that he was seriously concerned about what was happening. “SC has initiated suo motu proceedings to find out what is happening on ground. We as a state are ready to inform the court about what is happening,” he said.
“If court livestreams are cases like this, which are of enormous emotional importance, then our reputation is tarnished the moment the court makes some comments, even though we are here to tell everything we know on behalf of the state. We have the reputation “50 years of legal practice being destroyed overnight,” Sibal said. When the CJI said, “We will keep that in mind,” Sibal said, “the SC in the Swapnil Tripathi case (2018) has held that cases of this nature cannot be live streamed.”
The CJI said the court would not stop the live streaming of proceedings in the RG Kar case. “It is a matter of public interest and let people know what is happening in the courtroom in this case,” Sibal said, “Our reputations are also important. We cannot be defamed in this manner.”
Referring to a comment made by the Attorney General two hearings ago, in which he accused Sibal of laughing as the court dealt with a horrific crime involving a young girl, Sibal said: “When did I laugh? I did not laugh. It is the most horrific crime ever committed. There are threats to female lawyers in our rooms. Acid will be thrown on us, we will be raped… That’s what’s happening on the floor. This is not fair.”
The CJI said, “If there is any threat to female or male lawyers in this case, irrespective of the party they are representing, then we will take action on it.” Sibal said, “What can the court do if people on the ground are telling us this?”
Sibal told a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra that he was seriously concerned about what was happening. “SC has initiated suo motu proceedings to find out what is happening on ground. We as a state are ready to inform the court about what is happening,” he said.
“If court livestreams are cases like this, which are of enormous emotional importance, then our reputation is tarnished the moment the court makes some comments, even though we are here to tell everything we know on behalf of the state. We have the reputation “50 years of legal practice being destroyed overnight,” Sibal said. When the CJI said, “We will keep that in mind,” Sibal said, “the SC in the Swapnil Tripathi case (2018) has held that cases of this nature cannot be live streamed.”
The CJI said the court would not stop the live streaming of proceedings in the RG Kar case. “It is a matter of public interest and let people know what is happening in the courtroom in this case,” Sibal said, “Our reputations are also important. We cannot be defamed in this manner.”
Referring to a comment made by the Attorney General two hearings ago, in which he accused Sibal of laughing as the court dealt with a horrific crime involving a young girl, Sibal said: “When did I laugh? I did not laugh. It is the most horrific crime ever committed. There are threats to female lawyers in our rooms. Acid will be thrown on us, we will be raped… That’s what’s happening on the floor. This is not fair.”
The CJI said, “If there is any threat to female or male lawyers in this case, irrespective of the party they are representing, then we will take action on it.” Sibal said, “What can the court do if people on the ground are telling us this?”
