Kerala Judicial Officers' Association Seeks High Court's Action Against Cyber Attack Of Judge Who Decided Actor Rape Case

The Kerala Judicial Officers' Association (KJOA) has made a request to the Kerala High Court to initiate action against persons that have made disparaging remarks against Smt. Honey M. Varghese, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam for the verdict in the actress rape case.Calling it an "unprecedented incident of public scandalisation" of a sitting judge, KJOA has sought contempt and other actions against those responsible. KJOA is a registered representative body of the judicial officers of the district judiciary in Kerala. "The videos and articles circulated through platforms such as Google, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, contains wild, defamatory, and scandalous imputations against a sitting Judicial Officer. Such materials are intended to erode public confidence in the judiciary by scandalising a Judge in the eyes of the public and amount to criminal contempt of court under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Hon'ble High Court's urgent intervention is therefore sought to protect the independence of the judiciary and to ensure adequate safeguards for Judicial Officers from such public vilification and scandalisation," says the letter.The letter names certain practicing lawyers, film personalities, and media houses for making defamatory comments amounting to personal attacks against the judge. This, according to the association, was intentional action to lower the authority of the judicial in the public eye. "The most egregious misconduct, and the primary ground for this complaint, is the deliberate live-streaming of defamatory content through Facebook and YouTube, wherein wild, baseless, and scandalous allegations—including a false charge of preparation of judgement in consultation with the accused—were made against a sitting Judicial Officer. Such public broadcast goes far beyond individual defamation."It is also stated in the letter that this practice of attacking judicial officers for their judgments is becoming more common, and that this was not an isolated incident."Distorted versions of judgments are being circulated without even reading the actual text, and false allegations are being propagated against Judicial Officers. It is particularly painful that even certain lawyers are joining hands with such unscrupulous individuals, thereby undermining both the noble legal profession and the judicial system...Photographs uploaded on official platforms are being widely misused to tarnish the image of Judicial Officers. This appears to be a calculated attempt to defame the entire system and erode the credibility of the judiciary. There has even been a deliberate effort to malign the institution through the circulation of an anonymous letter. We cannot remain silent spectators to such orchestrated actions."According to the KJOA, such derogatory statements against judges interfere with the course of justice, amounting to criminal contempt."A Judge can act only on the evidence placed before the court and cannot deliver a verdict in accordance with baseless media narratives. Moreover, a judge has no forum to respond to such criticism, as a judge speaks solely through judgment. In this regard, the Association submits that the publication of the disparaging statements are calculated to interfere with the due course of justice or proper administration of law by the Court and amounts to criminal contempt."Bringing these to the notice of the High Court through a letter signed by its President, the KJOA has requested the High Court to initiate measures to uphold the dignity of the members of the judiciary, to initiate contempt proceedings against the offenders, direct the offenders & social media platforms to delete & remove the malicious & derogatory contents, and to restrain the social media platforms from exhibiting materials containing such contents.

Kerala Judicial Officers' Association Seeks High Court's Action Against Cyber Attack Of Judge Who Decided Actor Rape Case

K. Salma Jennath

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