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Pat for the Fourth Estate

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Though defence lawyer Ramesh Gupta blamed the media for witch hunting the rich and famous and cautioned it against “crossing its limits,” the judgment had a word of praise and admiration for the Fourth Estate.

“This is a trial in which the entire criminal justice system crumbled, though a hope for justice still remained because of the watchful eyes of a vigilant Fourth Estate,” said Additional District and Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar in the judgment.

Acknowledging the significance of the case beyond merely punishing the guilty, the judgment observed that the “trial had posed greater questions as to what is the meaning of fair trial and how should the court proceed when the witnesses are being won over and the trial is being hijacked by the high and mighty.”

Referring to the bizarre turns in the case, the judge said: “The trial saw many dramatic twists and turns and it is an eloquent witness to a common state of affairs in the criminal trials.”

Citing the present case as an opportunity to plug loopholes in the criminal justice system, Judge Vinod Kumar observed: “This is a case where it is needed that the entire criminal justice system should sit up to find effective ways and means to tackle a situation where wealthy and highly placed persons are able to thwart the entire course of justice and thereafter at the end, claim benefit of doubt as a matter of right.”

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