A Question Of Aroon Purie's Ethics & Morals

(This is a MaxiPost)

The Editors’ Guild (which is a Union of Snakes) condemned the imaginary attack on Rajdeep Sardesai by PM Modi’s supporters. This relates to the incident at Madison Square Garden, New York. I don’t have to add that the EG is filled with people like Rajdeep (a former president of the EG). They’re people who have forgotten what their job is, what their code of conduct is and what their ethics are. The entire media mafia reacted predictably; without evidence and without facts. Do these people really qualify to be editors? A few days back the same EG issued a grand statement demanding greater access to the PM and PMO: 

“A statement issued by the Guild said that a "top-down, one-way interaction in a country with limited internet connectivity and technological awareness cannot be the only answer for large masses of readers, viewers, surfers and listeners. Debate, dialogue and discussion are the essential ingredients of a democratic discourse… By delaying the establishment of a media inter-face in the Prime Minister's Office, in restricting access to ministers and bureaucrats in offices and in reducing the flow of information at home and abroad, the government in its early days seems to be on a path that runs counter to the norms of democratic discourse and accountability”.

Democratic discourse and accountability? The EG members who can blatantly lie, as also other media crooks in the MSM, do not demonstrate any accountability themselves and they think they are God’s messengers to demand it from others. Evidence has proved beyond any doubt that RS was the aggressor, the offender who physically assaulted a person at MSG. All of these clowns exploded against what they call “Modi Bhakts”. They’re just “Modi Bhakts” and not people who came to hear the Indian PM? Well, not according to Rajdeep as we shall see. We would be right in calling these clowns “Congress Coolies” who are predominantly anti-Modi and have been so for over a dozen years. Let’s look at comments from some of these hate-filled clowns:

Let’s do it serially. First, there is this ultimate Morongini from NDTV – Sunetra Choudhury. In her rage she even thinks they have the right to ask obnoxious questions. Like what? Like her stupid boss Barkha asked Tulsi Gabbard are you “going to stick to Hinduism”? Not so long ago another bimbo from NDTV (Nidhi Razdan) screamed “we have the right to question our Supreme Court”. Who the hell are these people? Grannies-in-law of all of India that they can blabber anything? Then there is the stupid Shiv Aroor who claimed he saw the video “frame by frame” and the local guy attacked Rajdeep. Seriously, this guy is totally blind if that’s what he saw and the rest of the world saw something else. Then there is the usual scumbag called Varadabhai who vomits filth at every chance to tar Modi. This anti-Indian American squats in India and spews his hatred on anything that’s connected to Modi, RSS or Hindus. That’s his life. Sick, venal! And then there’s the iRudali who passes for editor at NDTV (responsible for nothing by the way) who as usual is quick to condemn anything to do with ordinary Indians that she hates right from head to her little toe. And all these morons are supposedly editors of the garbage variety who didn’t spare even a few hours to check facts of the incident. This is who they are. And they demand accountability from the PMO?

So what kind of questions did Rajdeep ask? Apart from the usual nonsense of 2002 and the US visa denial he asks the street-people “Is Modi BJP’s PM”? Then he tells them “only 31% voted for Modi” (factually wrong but immaterial) so “what do they have to say to the remaining critics of Modi”. So all the remaining 69% (according to Rajdeep) are haters like him who do nothing all day but rant about and criticise Modi for no reason or rhyme? And this is what these thugs call journalism? All the video evidence is in my previous post. When you imply by questions that the PM is not a PM for everyone but only for one political party then you are indeed abusing your country. How does it matter whether Modi got 31% or 16% votes? Have Modi and his party not won the election fair and square? You land up on foreign soil and abuse your own democratic system then that is indeed abusing India as the poster someone made rightly says.

If you are unwilling to accept a democratically elected PM as your PM: Get out of India and rant and abuse all your life. This is not criticism or demanding accountability from anyone but mindless abuse of the PM and ordinary Indian voters because they voted one particular party. Don’t stay in India or claim to be an Indian if you cannot accept her democratic procedures and verdicts. What code of conduct is that, Mr Aroon Purie? What ethics is that? And do people call Rajdeep a hate-monger and Modi-abuser just for fun? Do they have any genetic motive to dislike him? Not at all? Both Rajdeep and Sagarika have a history of abusing people and Modi. Half the people on SM are writing about media because this hate-filled duo (along with others like Barkha) deserved a spanking. Just go through all the links in this post “The eternal lies of Rajdeep” for a full dossier on Rajdeep’s lies and abuse. This scumbag even claims to be a journalist or an editor? Where in the world is so much hatred peddled by a media-couple? Any answers, Aroon Purie? So too the bimbo Sunetra. Just as Rajdeep abused NRIs as people “With money but no class” this bimbo loses an argument and ridicules a woman just because she’s an NRI:

You hate and ridicule a woman for being an NRI? These scumbags now not only look down upon Indians but also NRIs. The only race that is acceptable to them is the race called “media Sickos”. They keep getting better with time after C5M’s “Ugly Indian males” statement. And they are journalists? They have the right to ask “obnoxious” questions? Fly a kite! And after all this the India-abuser, stuttering, stammering, blabbering Rajdeep goes on another rant about Modi not taking questions from him. Laughable! Watch (1.16 mins):

If you bear so much hatred towards the PM of the country and its citizens you are naturally going to be mocked and ridiculed by ordinary folks. But there is a question of professionalism, of professional code of conduct and ethics. And that is the question that Aroon Purie needs to answer since he is the chairman of the company that employs this hate-monger. Let me remind these people about Virat Kohli and the incident when he was booed by the public. This was Kohli’s reaction:

Mind you, Kohli didn’t assault anybody or insult anyone verbally. For showing his middle finger he was fined 50% of his match-fees. It is a known convention, practice and part of the code of conduct that when professional figures are with crowds they will be applauded and they will be mocked, booed and ridiculed. The professional is expected to take all that in his stride and move on. If he fails, there is a price to pay for breaking the code and professional ethics. What is the price Rajdeep is going to pay, Mr Aroon Purie? Then there was the case of Inzamam-ul Haq in 1997 when he was ridiculed by a spectator with a megaphone who kept chanting “Aloo Aloo” (meaning fat as potato) at Inzamam. The player got into the enclosure and almost beat up the spectator. No matter what the provocation Inzamam was not forgiven for his conduct. He was banned for two ODIs. Has Rajdeep even issued an apology yet, Mr Aroon Purie? How are you dealing with this case? Not enough? Okay, here you go, watch another video (1.22 mins):

France’s great football hero, Zinedine Zidane, a much-admired professional player across the world (not disliked like Rajdeep) was red-carded and sent off for head-butting an opponent in the WC Finals in 2006. Zidane’s opponent had supposedly abused him verbally to which he reacted. Even THAT is not acceptable under professional code of conduct Mr Aroon Purie. Even when two teams are on the ground and one opponent (not some spectator) abuses you, you are not entitled to physically assault him. It invites a punishment. In the case of Rajdeep there were no opponents but ordinary people. Even if they heckled him he had no right to assault anyone. In fact, Rajdeep was the first to call someone an “asshole” and when that person returned the compliment, RS turned back and physically assaulted him. Under which code of conduct or ethics is Rajdeep entitled to this behaviour Mr Aroon Purie? Yours? Just as Zidane received an instant red-card, Rajdeep deserves an instant sacking. And this wasn’t even some “personal” fight that Rajdeep was involved in, he was there as a reporter for India Today group.   

All the mafia members – Editors guild, assorted Sickos from TV and print – all of them collectively lied about the MSG incident and portrayed Rajdeep as the victim when the truth was exactly the opposite. Rajdeep was and is the criminal. This mafia doesn’t even follow the first basic rule of journalism: fact-check and double-check before blabbering or reporting. Even carpenters and tailors follow the golden rule: “Measure twice, cut once”. To this day this mafia carries on its hate-campaign against Modi and his supporters. Why in hell do they expect he should talk to them or even share a seat with them? Which of these sickos have apologised for their false portrayal and reporting of the MSG incidents? None! On the contrary a news website, Rediff, grandly published a news item claiming Modi had condemned the attack on Rajdeep. Predictably, this was “Salma-Sabrina” reporting with no basis. Rediff quoted Gautam Adani as having communicated Modi’s comments (as if Adani is Modi’s spokie). The poor guy had to issue a clarification:

So Rajdeep goes and whines with Adani. Fair enough! He claims they abused his son – no way to verify. But if that causes him so much grief then he should ask himself how Modi, as a PM, tolerates all his abuse (and those of others) with professional decency without ever retaliating. This mafia even ridicules Modi's mother. The PM sends the right message by talking to people directly through mass media, social media and now also radio. These mongrels that grovel for crumbs while abusing the man certainly do not merit an audience. Some of them are anti-nationals and who knows which one might pull a knife or a weapon given that scoundrels like Rajdeep can attack ordinary people.  And when the truth had hit them all like it always does, this is what his bitter half tweeted:

While Rajdeep maybe a hero to his family it is now established beyond any doubt that this hate-mongering couple is nothing but public nuisance. Sagarika’s tweet is also a veiled admission that she realises that her hubby was the fool and the criminal at MSG. Now that the real story and the truth is out, the spotlight has to turn to Aroon Purie on how he’s going to handle this criminal. Purie was once caught plagiarising content from a magazine. It’s a crime. But he blamed ‘jet-lag’ and his Delhi staff for feeding him those lines as he didn’t know much about the subject he was writing about. That’s how Chief Editors and Publishers of magazines write and then offer the usual excuse about their staff having “fed” them the stuff. Purie apologised and one can forgive his offence as a stray incident and move on.

Rajdeep has not apologised to his victim or to anyone else. In this case apology isn’t enough and Rajdeep is a chronic offender. Rajdeep has breached all codes of decency, of public conduct and any journalistic ethics that the Editors’ Guild claims it has. Does Aroon Purie follow any code of conduct, ethics or morals? If so, these morals and ethics demand that Purie sack this criminal immediately from his company. If he does not, there is a message he sends to his entire team and to the journalistic community at large that they do not have any moral rights to question anyone’s conduct. They will be in no position to demand the resignation of any violent or corrupt politician. Their targets will ask them to look inward instead of pointing fingers at others. Rajdeep belongs in jail. To send him there or not is the choice of the injured party who was assaulted. But it’s now a question whether Aroon Purie has any ethics or morals. That is his and the media’s test.

Tailpiece: On October 3, Rajdeep tweeted (No.1) wondering why someone was tweeting his 6-month old tweet and that it was mischief. The tweet in question (No.2) was one where he plays “victim” after slyly abusing Modi as a “Dog” (No.3 – That was the Nemo-NaMo walk tweet of his). And on February 9, 2014 Rajdeep claimed he was receiving death threats and abuses and fears for his granny (No.4). This sick moron abuses, plays victim and claims fake threats. This is the criminal at his game for over a dozen years. Naturally, Tweeple asked him if he could carry on his nonsense of 2002 for 12 years why he’s averse to being reminded of his 6-month old tweet? Karma! 

The Beast's Accomplices

There are three kinds of sting operations: 1) An authorised Law Enforcement agency like the Police or CBI conducts a sting to make inroads into a crime already committed to force evidence. 2) Lure innocent people into believing or playing roles to con someone or commit a major crime. You know like that Special26 movie about the jewellery shop robbery in 1987 where the conman recruited people as CBI agents to rob the outlet. 3) Fabricate a crime with some political or other motive and then try to fit people into it. Catch them unawares by appealing to their baser instincts and tempt them into a crime.

 

The recent sting on the AAP Party falls into the third category. Try to appeal to baser instincts of people (and it is normal for a large number of people who can succumb to temptation) and then claim they are guilty. Tehelka’s history is full of the third category. In other words, these are not even stings but more of entrapments. Tarun Tejpal (TT) couldn’t help molesting and raping a young colleague twice at a public event (Remember NDTV, please insert alleged everywhere). Imagine what crimes he would have succumbed to if offered inducements with call girls or prostitutes. Take a look at the pic below:

Not hard to recognise the man in the middle, is it? In 2009 Tiger Woods was hospitalised and the media was trying to find out why. Then came news that there was an accident and he suffered some serious injuries. People were worried. Then came news that the injuries were out of his wife beating him up. Then came news that the beating was because of his adultery and affair with another woman. That should have explained. It didn’t stop there. Then came news of three more women. Then another three! By the time the shock could be absorbed it turns out Woods had rounded up a complete “cricket team” of girlfriends with whom he had affairs. He even added a 12th woman to complete the bench; there were 12 women in all. But even the high-octane-libido-Woods wasn’t accused of raping or forcing any woman into sex with him. Tejpal’s daughter claims to have told “V” (his victim) that her dad had done this before. So I wonder how many will tumble out of his closet and speak up with the same courage as V.

Are we to believe that people around Tiger Woods and many of his media chroniclers didn’t know about his sexcapades? I don’t thinks so. Are we to believe all the friends of TT in the media didn’t know about his sexcapades? I don’t think so in his case either. Every major media celeb in NDTV, CNN-IBN, TimesNow, India Today, TOI Group, Mid-day, FirstPost and all the cronies in and around Delhi and Mumbai would have known about his history sheet. They remained quiet. They were all silent accomplices. Chances are they are still accomplices to some other crooks like TT. In particular, would Shoma Chaudhury be unaware? Facts tell us she would be. After all, Tehelka was a small family and not a giant like TOI. Shoma now comes across the scumbagini who’s the biggest accomplice in terms of attempts to cover up of the whole episode. This is the same Shoma who is quoted in Wiki (Pic from DailyMail):  

Chaudhary criticises the current state of the Indian media. Speaking on a panel on investigative journalism at the 16th World Editors Forum, she remarked on the state of journalism in India as "pathetic" as it had become "a corporate rather than a political act". She was critical of the "focus on advertisement revenue" rather than public interest, adding that "journalism has thus been undervalued, and this needs to change”. On another occasion she was quoted as saying: “India's political, corporate and media establishment sounds like a mobile cocktail party, gliding, champagne glasses in hand, in and out of each other’s drawing rooms, television studios, boardrooms and award ceremonies like actors in an elaborate charade”.

That last quote seems to pretty much describe Tehelka itself. Surprising see doesn’t see Tehelka’s ugly face in the mirror. “Drunken banter” said Tejpal to his victim. Mobile cocktail party? That’s what most media houses in Delhi are and they are part of the Scotch-circuit of Delhi and Mumbai. The cocktails by themselves shouldn’t bother us but it’s the kind of ‘Hammam’ and incestuous club it has created that has destroyed the credibility of MSM. There isn’t one single media house that is clean. All of them protect each other’s crimes. All of them protect each other’s rapes, molestations, corruptions and frauds. There is a reason I fondly call them a “mafia”. The earlier tagline for this blog was “Crooks & Liars in the Indian media are the greatest danger to our democracy”. It’s not the middle and junior, it’s the top rung that is usually corrupt and dangerous. The bottle-neck is always at the top. It is only when it’s too late that some speak out. Most of the media houses are scavenging on the death of Tehelka and are guilty of gross negligence all this while. They’re like a “mafia wife”. But there are some who acted out of courage, some whose voices never reached you earlier, spoke out. Here are two former employees of Tehelka (Video: 6.00 mins):

 

Revati Lal resigned after the murky handling and cover up attempts by Shoma. It’s a courageous decision. Prithi Sen not only confirms the misdeeds but seems to have been a victim herself and was effectively told ‘put up or shut up’. Prithi must have just decided to leave. Surprisingly, Prithi was on the lesser viewed NewsX channel and not on the other real mafia channels (unless I’ve missed something). Prithi makes a very important point about TT’s fraudulent claim of “consensual sex” as he blames the victim and calls her a liar. She rightly points out that even if, hypothetically, the girl had made the advances it should have been the job of TT to discourage her and ask her to behave. V’s letter to Shoma after the horrible incidents are in the public domain and her account of the sequence of events don’t leave much doubt about who the criminal here is. Tejpal and Shoma don’t seem to realise that they have not only destroyed themselves but the lives and careers of others. Employees had invested their trust, their time and their careers in the hands of TT and Shoma. Tehelka is dead! The innocent ones will have to seek careers elsewhere. I hope they find better ones at better places.

That brings us to the other accomplices to the crimes of Tehelka and the two bosses. These are the ones who claim to have known TT for long and even as a “dear friend”. Here’s the Category5Moron with her story:

Those were Sagarika’s initial tweets after the rape incident became public. Do you really believe she didn’t know what had happened? Seriously, she cries for TT and claims he’s a loving, generous friend and being in the media and ‘gossip-circuit’ heard nothing? Never mind! 

What are first reactions? It wasn’t of any shock or outrage that you would expect from her had such an incident happened in some other event. All that comes out is that she is more sorrowful for Tejpal than for the victim. A bit later (bottom left tweet) she manages to applaud the victim for her courage. Oh and “many of us have suffered, were scared to speak” in the past? Who is us? Has Sagarika suffered? If so, is she referring to her past employers at Outlook or some other outlet? What stops her from speaking now? Inconsolable in her tears, she manages to demonstrate she’s a Royal Bimbo by connecting the “snooping” incident to the rape incident. How moronic can you get? So somehow curse “Modi Bhakts” because her dear friend turned out to be a rapist. She doesn’t fool me by pretending she didn’t know TT’s history. Does she fool you? Here’s Sonia Singh of NDTV:

I haven’t seen Sonia Singh blabbering too much on any topic even if she’s accused of bias being a Congi’s wife. That should never matter in anyone’s consideration of what she says or does. But she goofs up here. I disagree with her contention that publishing the notes of the victim in a paper is the reason why women are scared to come out. Far from that I think the more women speak out and publish the more the fear will dissipate. What Sonia should wonder about is something else. If I recall correctly, she was elevated as the Head of the Ethics Committee of NDTV when the Sunetra Chaudhury incident happened. What did NDTV do? Maybe NDTV did something and got an apology or compensation and settled the issue. We don’t know.

Has Sonia ever asked why when NDTV has a website Sunetra had to write about her humiliation in another newspaper (DNA)? Isn’t that odd? Sunetra also wrote that despite the incident she had to attend a presser of the culprit which quite scared her. It is just that Sunetra didn’t name the crook while in V’s case the name was out on Social Media already. Had it not been for SM TT’s latest would have been buried too. Other than that I don’t see any difference between Sunetra publishing or V’s letter being published. This doesn’t occur to Sonia or others who are making similar comments. I have mentioned in the previous post that maybe if the Sunetra incident had been blown up it could have prevented TT and maybe other crimes. NDTV, therefore, is a moral accomplice to these crimes.

That then brings us to other accomplices who are suddenly discovering Tehelka. All this past decade none in the media asked a simple question: How did Tehelka get so rich? How is it that despite consistent losses TT got so rich? How did he get to buy prized real estate in Goa? How is it that Tehelka was able to get funds for events like THINK and KINK. Nothing of Tehelka’s sales or ad revenues would point to such massive funds. I say KINK because TT is reported to have famously told delegates: They were in Goa “so they could eat, drink, be merry and sleep with whomever you want". Does Goa lend itself to that reputation or is it TT’s personal lifestyle? The fund-grabbing for 2011 included arm-twisting of the then Goa CM Digambar Kamat based on a little help from friend Ahmed Patel. Yeah; the guy who monitors Sonia Gandhi’s happiness and unhappiness meter!

Anant Media is the owner of Tehelka. Here’s what ET reports: For the fiscal ended March 31, 2012, Anant media posted a loss of 10.5 crore, down from a loss of 16 crore the previous year. Royal Building and Infrastructure, the Alchemist group company, extended an unsecured loan of Rs19 crore to Anant Media during the fiscal ended 31 March 2012. KD Singh has been in the news for his brush with the law on two occasions in the recent past. In 2011, he was intercepted at New Delhi airport carrying an unspecified but large amount of cash. He was boarding a flight to Assam, where assembly polls were due and Trinamool Congress was contesting…airport officials allowed him to travel after he identified himself as an employee of the Alchemist group… SEBI barred Alchemist Holdings from accepting deposits from the public. It held that Alchemist Holdings and Alchemist Infra Realty Ltd had together raised more than 1,400 crore in illicit schemes… In 2012, the government had ordered a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office into Alchemist group companies.

So a majority of the investment is from realty companies. They even extend an unsecured loan of 19 crores against accumulated losses of 26 crores in the previous two years to Tehelka. Sound business sense, eh? Of course, we don’t know what the accumulated losses were before that. How does a small rag, tag and bobtail outfit like Tehelka make such losses? Where does the money go? An investigation into the personal finances and assets of TT and Shoma should answer that. A thorough investigation into the personal assets and finances of many media celebs would reveal a lot. This was the company that was broke and had to be resurrected with the intervention of Sonia Gandhi. Hindustan Times narrates a similar story.

Mumbai Mirror goes further into the murky dealings of TT. This includes the sacking of a man who was about to expose a major mining scam in Goa. It seems TT fired him to bargain funds for THINK2011. The Grand Hyatt, where KINK2013 and the rape happened, is reportedly owned by a beneficiary of the suppressed scams. It goes further about TT: “He was also getting a seedy reputation for talking loosely about the sex lives of people he knew and for brushing aside sexual harassment complaints. One of his former colleagues, who quit journalism after an incident in which the Tejpal-Chaudhury duo played a questionable role, remembers the indifference with which he treated her sexual harassment complaint against a colleague who had circulated pictures of her exposed midriff all around the office”. All this corruption and ‘poison-power’ flows from only one fountain: The Congotri of corruption. History hangs on tiny chances. Ask TT to tell you about it someday.

They were all accomplices. One way or another they covered up the crimes and excesses of the beast. After all, which media house doesn’t have similar stories? That Tehelka will die isn’t of much consequence to me. It’s the kind of the third-rate journalism and dishonourable practices it employed that should really die. Excessive corruption, illicit wealth and the wine of ‘69 drives many of our media celebs. I’m naturally reminded of some lines from a song that describes this culture pretty well.

Her mind is Tiffany twisted/ She got the Mercedes bends/ She got a lot of pretty pretty boys/ She calls friends… Mirrors on the ceiling/ Pink champagne on ice/ And she said, “We are all just prisoners here of our own device”/ And in their master’s chambers/ They had gathered for the feast/ They stab it with their steely knives/ But they just can’t kill the beast…

The Defence Never Rests

There are some in our media who are better off if they don’t open their mouths about legal issues. Not because they shouldn’t speak but because they try to influence and mislead public opinion through utterances that primarily stem from ignorance of the law and legal practice. This is especially so when they are peddling half-truths. To call them “Legal-Bimbos” wouldn’t be unfair. Take a look at these tweets:

In the first, the legal luminary from CNN-IBN, Pallavi Ghosh, equates Arun Jaitley’s defence of PJ Kurien to the case of Sushil Shinde. The context being, BJP announced they will boycott Shinde because of his “Hindu terror” comments and the SC reopening an old rape case from Kerala in which the current RS Deputy Chairman was an accused. Arun Jaitley had then defended Kurien in the case. The other legal expert, Sunetra Chaudhary from NDTV, even suggests Jaitley is still defending Kurien in the SC. Barkha Dutt points out to Sunetra that Jaitley had given up legal practice after becoming the LOP in the RS. Jaitley had mentioned this to her or someone else when he was interviewed by NDTV in an issue relating to Nitin Gadkari. And though Barkha rightly points out a fact, she is not pointing out the right fact. The right fact is that Arun Jaitley, if he hadn’t surrendered his license, would still be entitled to and justified in defending Kurien. Merely because Arun Jaitley defended Kurien or any person from some other political party is not reason enough to cast aspersions on his character.

The moronic answer that Sunetra provides is that she wondered if Tweeple knew. Well, if she hasn’t yet learnt that Tweeple are not bimbos like her, then she’s worse than I actually thought. Sure, there may be some stray legal-bimbos on Twitter too. Maybe those are the ones who follow Sunetra and she is trying to educate them. Such idiots maintain that Jaitley shouldn’t defend “alleged” rapists as a lawyer in courts. So much for expertise!

In the recent Delhi Gangrape incident there was a shocking announcement from the Lawyers Association at Saket in Delhi. The association’s head appealed to lawyers not to defend the accused. Individual choices are fine but asking all lawyers not to defend some accused is comically outrageous. This head lawyer is worthy of having his license stripped. This action reflects lack of respect for the law under which the govt and our judiciary system are obligated to provide defence for an accused. It mocks democracy itself. If the govt and lawyers fail in this obligation they are failing our justice system and causing serious damage to legal processes.

Not so long ago, the lawyers initially engaged for the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab were assaulted and beaten up. These goons and those who cheered them deserve to be condemned and punished. How does all this stupidity start? Exactly the way Pallavi and Sunetra start it! The idiotic anchors and media reporters believe the media is so powerful that once they pronounce someone guilty then there is no need for a court to try a case. They believe associating lawyers with a criminally-accused makes them equally guilty of the crime. Such morons abound in resplendent glory on Twitter as well. The public then turns against the lawyers as if they were evil and sometimes thrashes them. Let’s go back a few years and you can watch moronery of the most extreme kind from none other than a legal-bimbo who shouldn’t be talking law at all. Yeah, who else but Sagarika Ghose? This is how she questioned Ram Jethmalani in 2006 in the Manu Sharma case (Appeal in SC for killing Jessica Lal). You can watch it on Youtube but here are her opening questions which are shocking:

Sagarika Ghose: In defending Manu Sharma, are you in some sense defending or attempting to defend the indefensible?... But sir, aren’t you worried that you are going against the tide of public opinion?... But the Press is only reflecting public opinion... Here is someone who in the eyes of the public is seen as someone who has committed a heinous crime.

So you see, according to the media, cases should be decided based on “public opinion” that they generate and the media and public in general have the right to declare someone “indefensible”. These are seriously dangerous messages that our media is putting out. RamJ rightly spanked Sagarika for her stupidity in that interview. RamJ has a record of defending the most notorious criminals from Billa-Ranga to Indira Gandhi’s killers and he is now hired to defend Rajiv Gandhi’s killers in TN to commute the death sentence. He is doing his job. It’s the media morons who are failing in theirs. By the stupid logic of media, should the doctors who treated Kasab’s injuries have refused to do so? Should doctors let the accused die because of media or public opinion? This is the reason the legal fraternity has great respect for RamJ while the media sees him as evil. All such questions come from media-comedians who even describe High Court judgements as ‘Panchayati judgements’. And her channel entrusts her with moderating discussions about rape laws or marital-rape laws. That’s the absurdity at CNN-IBN. Would you leave legal counselling to comedians?

‘The defense never rests’ is the title of a famous book by eminent American Criminal-Trial lawyer F. Lee Bailey (do read comments on the page I’ve linked). He has been involved in some of the most notorious cases and even in the OJ Simpson trial which has been called “Trial of the century”. In his book he describes how public thinks lawyers defending notorious accused are mavericks and face the wrath of public and media. That brings us to an important question. Do defence lawyers naturally believe their clients are “innocent”? Absolutely not! It’s the LAW that believes they are innocent till proven guilty. WE made that law! So what exactly do defence lawyers do in such cases? They do a lot more than just defend someone; they complement and validate our judiciary system. The courts are people’s courts. Remember, if an accused is not defended properly the court can very well declare it a mistrial and miscarriage of justice and even free the accused. Is that what our media’s legal-bimbos want? Ask them! Do they want rapists and murderers to go scot-free because no lawyer was willing or allowed to defend them? That is what a court may choose to do if no defence is afforded to the accused. 

In the US, Miranda Rights are Rights which are read to a person immediately on arrest or before interrogation. It’s commonly called Miranda rights since the guy (Ernesto Miranda) who was arrested was released by the court because the law officers did not read him his legal rights. The standard Rights, with variants, to be read to a person about to be arrested in the US is: “You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. If you cannot afford a lawyer, the state will provide you one”. If that legal right is not read to an arrestee then the court is likely to dismiss the case and seek a retrial. The US also has the Fifth Amendment which provides the Right for an accused to remain silent. The accused is not liable to prove he is guilty nor is his defence lawyer. It’s the job of the prosecution to prove him guilty. Not the defence lawyer, not the media and not public opinion. Public opinion matters in the ballot box not in a court of law. Public opinion issues and concerns can be raised through a PIL but they cannot be used by media to pronounce legal verdicts on anyone. The 2-minute-orgasm polls in the media cannot declare anyone guilty or indefensible.

Defence lawyers are not always fighting to prove clients “innocent”. Certainly not! In the case of David Headley the evidence was so damning that his defence plea-bargained. That’s what defence lawyers do. The defence also ensures that proper charges are framed and a proper trial is conducted. It is important that an accused is tried under proper clauses, charges, crimes and procedures. The defence lawyer ensures that. The defence lawyer also ensures that prosecution does not tar an accused with unrelated crimes or crimes the person has never committed. The defence lawyer’s job is to ensure no pressure or public opinion is brought to bear on the court proceedings. The defence lawyer ensures the Judge has no personal stake in the proceedings and asks for a different judge should he prove that. Defence lawyers ensure punishment is not disproportionate to the crime. Therefore, the media is doing a great disservice to the justice system, to you and to society at large when they question defence lawyers and paint them as “criminals” by association. The media’s Powder-Puff girls and morons who agree with their logic might want to learn some law before they make stupid pronouncements to mislead people.

If lawyers, as an association or group, decide to boycott an accused claiming he or she is a villain or guilty in the eyes of media or public opinion then these lawyers are guilty of failing to uphold the law and the Constitution they swore to protect. And those who verbally trash or physically thrash such defence lawyers are equally guilty of uncivilised behaviour and are misundersanders of democracy and justice. The prosecution acts for the people. That’s why they call such prosecution “State V xyz or People V xyz or Union V xyz’. Under criminal law, the crime is not just against an individual or group, it's a crime against the State. It’s also WE, as people, who have ordered, authorised and legislated that an accused must be allowed full defence. We pay the salary of the courts to make sure such defence is mandatory. Anyone in the media trashing legal defence of an accused is indirectly trashing the people.

The so called warriors of justice in the media overlook the fact that while they condemn many accused as guilty and ridicule defence lawyers as being equivalent to criminals they are the ones who celebrate the convicted criminals. They seem to have divine powers to pronounce anyone guilty but will promote and celebrate “convicted criminals” like Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Why? Because these guys mean money and Mota-maal for them! Our media doesn’t give a damn about justice or respect for law. Make no mistake about that. It’s the job of the prosecution to prove and establish beyond any reasonable doubt that a person is guilty and rest the case. The defence goes right up to the highest authority to seek justice or pardon (like Supreme Courts and Presidents). The defence never rests! It’s not supposed to.