Me lord Surya Kant ji your sweeping remarks “some unemployed youngsters become social media user and RTI activists and attacking system is in bad taste.”
Gustakhi Maaf Haryana — Pawan Kumar Bansal
The sweeping remarks made by Justice Surya Kant, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, have rightly evoked criticism. Referring to unemployed youngsters as “cockroaches” and describing sections of society as “parasites” was both unfortunate and unbecoming of a person occupying the country’s highest judicial office.
It may be true that some individuals on social media and certain RTI activists misuse their platforms or pursue personal agendas. However, can it be claimed that all judges are above suspicion? Generalised accusations against entire sections of society are neither fair nor justified.
At a time when much of the mainstream media has either been tamed by those in power or has surrendered for the sake of advertisements and patronage, social media remains one of the few rays of hope despite its excesses and aberrations. This writer himself has exposed several scandals and scams through social media, many of which were later highlighted in the Haryana Assembly.
As far as the Right to Information Act is concerned, although the present BJP regime has diluted some of its powers, it still remains an effective tool for bringing into the public domain information hidden in government files.
It is also worth mentioning that the commendable work of a Panipat-based RTI activist was publicly appreciated by a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant on Friday made sharp remarks in the Supreme Court, saying some unemployed youngsters become “media”, social media users, RTI activists and other activists “like cockroaches” and then begin attacking the system.
The remarks came during the hearing of a petition linked to the designation of a lawyer as a Senior Advocate before a bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. The court reprimanded the petitioner lawyer for aggressively pursuing the senior advocate designation and questioned his conduct, including the language he allegedly used on Facebook.