The high court on Thursday came down heavily on private television channels for “interrupting court proceedings” by hosting discussions on television even while cases are pending before courts.
Justice N Anand observed, “I see that private television channels invite advocates for discussions who give their opinion on television about cases pending before the courts. This is not acceptable. There should not be any interruption in court matters.”
Hearing the bail petition of retired IAS officer M Vishwanathan, who is allegedly involved in an illegal mining case, the CBI’s counsel C H Jadhav brought to the court’s notice that after his arrest, members of the IAS officers’ association held a meeting and came before the media extending their support to the retired officer.
Justice Anand said such activities are not permissible under law. “If you want to decide on your own, then why have these courts? Such things cannot be tolerated. Sanjay Dutt was sentenced for possessing illegal arms by the Supreme Court. Then, all Bollywood actors came forward and said that ‘We are with you’. But who went to jail with him?” the judge questioned.
Justice Anand has reserved his judgment on Vishwanathan’s bail petition. The accused, as Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department, allegedly conspired with Deccan Mining Syndicate to encroach upon the lease area of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
BDA gets an earful
“The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is like a boneless fish that cannot be caught. Let us know what development it has brought about in the city,” said High Court judge Justice Ram Mohan Reddy on Monday.
The court was hearing a petition filed by land owners who had challenged the acquisition of their land for the purpose of forming residential layouts.
Justice Reddy said the Development Authority had issued a notification to acquire 1,400 acres of land in Banashankari, but till now only five acres had been acquired.
He was shocked by the working of the BDA and directed the civic body to file an affidavit on September 25 on the extent of land notified to be acquired, land actually acquired and denotified in Banashankari IV, V Stages, JP Nagar VIII Stage and HSR Layout.
The residents of these layouts had filed a petition alleging that the BDA had acquired hundreds of acres to form layouts, but later denotified it.
Justice Reddy was unhappy with the BDA for not giving the details and said the agency is not providing proper information. The judge said the long arm of the law has now caught up with the agency that has committed a number of irregularities.