The Court of Last Resort, an organisation to fight for the cause of innocent people who have been unjustly accused and jailed, will be launched on April 15 in Delhi, Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju said here on Sunday.
Justice Katju appealed to youth and voluntary organisations to associate themselves with the organisation, which, he said, was absolutely necessary. He added that there was a need for large teams to study and examine complaints which would form a big chunk.
He was replying to questions after speaking at a symposium organised by The Hindu on the topic, ‘Reporting terror: How Sensitive is the Media’, at the Salar Jung Museum here.
He said that there was large-scale injustice in society, and that the organisation was absolutely necessary. “Unless you end injustice, you can’t end terrorism,” he added.
Justice Katju will be the chief patron, while eminent jurist Fali Nariman will be the national chairman of the body. Justice Katju said he had taken up with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition the need for powers to impose fine and suspend the licence of a newspaper. He also wanted the electronic media to be brought under the jurisdiction of the PCI.
Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor, The Hindu , felt that there was no need to prescribe qualifications for journalists as their ability of reportage could not be measured by their degrees.
