A constitutional crisis in judiciary may sound absurd but that is exactly what is happening in the High Court of Kerala.
Free reporting has become impossible in the high court and the lower courts, which model themselves on the High Court.
Reporters have been threatened inside the court of the chief justice by a group of advocates despite his assurance that journalists were free to report the court proceedings.
This is a serious issue which has to be condemned in the strongest words.
The supreme court has to step in as the directives of the chief justice of the high court's directives were not obeyed. The SC has underlined the importance of free journalism umpteen times and it cannot be silent on the Kerala affair.
The developments in the high court are unprecedented. What started out as an emotional outburst has been transformed to a planned and organized move against journalists. This behavior is hard to explain. Rather, it does not merit an explanation.
Advocates have gone on the warpath in many states, including Delhi. However, they were reactions to particular events and short-lived.
What we see in Kerala is extraordinary. Extraordinary matters call for extraordinary remedies. Time has come for senior lawyers, judges, advocates’ fraternity and the civil society to make their stand clear.
Let there be no doubt that the transparency of the administration of justice hinges on the presence of a free media in the courts. People need the media to be convinced about the free and fair administration of justice.
No one knows what the high court advocates really want. It is unfortunate that they act as if they were unaware of the Constitution and democratic principles.
They may be in a minority but they are encouraged by the ominous silence of the majority. Their show of strength is a challenge to the civil society and public interest.
The government or its agents have no business in dictating the terms of news collection.
In Kerala’s courts, advocates are trying to do just that. This is far more serious than censorship. Even during the Emergency, reporters were free to gather news. Only the publication was controlled.
Now, journalists are prevented from gathering news from its source, by none other than the protectors of the rule of law.
Unless the civil society wakes up to the danger it is headed for, it will be thrown over a precipice. A rebound may not be easy.