In this episode, hosts Dhanya Rajendran, Pooja Prasanna and Leena Reghunath are joined by independent journalist Nikita Saxena and Alok Prasanna Kumar of Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The panel discusses the controversy surrounding stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the need for judicial accountability, and what the Kiran Bedi tapes reveal.
On the demolition drive at The Habitat in Mumbai, Alok says, “All of this is a sign of power being insecure at some point…That you can't exactly make a clear claim that my power is legitimate, so you react this way.” He calls the demolition a “test” for the courts, who “laid down the guidelines on these kinds of so-called bulldozer actions”.
Dhanya points out that the outrage following Kunal Kamra’s latest show has been more dangerous than previous instances. “Considering it did not stop at vandalism, you saw BMC going and demolishing a part of the building where Kunal Kamra actually performed.”
Pooja highlights the political context behind the backlash: “Calling him a ‘gaddar’ is almost accepted. It’s a norm. Literally every other person in Shiv Sena, the UBT faction, has called him that. All opposition leaders, including Ajit Pawar, have called him ‘gaddar’ in the assembly. So it’s very mild.”
Nikita says, “The vigilante sort of actions right now are particularly horrific...every level of the democratic machinery [has] a very low threshold for what is considered offensive.”
The discussion then shifts to the law on contempt of court. Dhanya says, “If we truly believe in freedom of expression, we have to also do something about the contempt of court law...there is a sword hanging over your head all the time, which is why people cannot criticise judges or question judgements.”
Alok highlights the judiciary’s resistance to scrutiny, “There is an intolerance within the judiciary to have this kind of open discussion about issues which, bizarrely, there are open discussions in the bar canteen.”
Leena questions the lack of institutional oversight over the judiciary: “This is the biggest dispenser of justice in this country. And why don’t we have a professional system of vetting, a performance appraisal, a system of appointing them?”
Tune in for an in-depth discussion.
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Audio timecodes
00:00:00 - Intro
00:39:00 - Kiran Bedi tapes
00:02:11 - Headlines
00:13:05 - Kunal Kamra row
00:33:38 - Judicial accountability
00:54:25 - Kiran Bedi tapes
01:12:57 - Recommendations
References
Recommendations
Nikita Saxena
Alok Prasanna Kumar
Judges of the Supreme Court of India
The Flaming Feet and Other Essays
Pooja Prasanna
Justice Madan Lokur Intv by Karan Thapar
Leena Reghunath
The inside story of how a journalist was sent White House war plans
Dhanya Rajendran
Produced by Bhuvan Malik, edited by Jaseem Ali.
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