In episode 11 of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Leena Reghunath are joined by TNM’s Nandini Chandrashekar, investigative journalist Poonam Agarwal, and lawyer Anup Surendranath.
The discussion begins with analysing the difference in the sentences awarded in two criminal cases: one from West Bengal and one from Kerala. Why did a judge give Sanjay Roy life imprisonment in the RG Kar rape and murder case, and why did Greeshma get the death penalty for the murder of 23-year-old Sharon Raj?
Anup argues that the RG Kar judgement is a better interpretation of the law. He says that the judge was aware of what the Supreme Court has said about when to choose life imprisonment and when to choose the death penalty. He also says the same principle was not followed in the Greeshma-Sharon Raj case, where the judge displayed “shocking ignorance” of what the SC requires and “cherry-picked” judgements.
Leena says the public tends to be trigger-happy, and judgements are often a reflection of this.
The discussion then moves to the PM Cares Fund, with Poonam asking why its financial statements have not been made public. “Why do we need to know these details?” she says. “Because donations were made by us as well. As a citizen, many people donated during Covid.”
Tune in for an in-depth discussion!
Listen on Apple.
Listen on Spotify.
Once a month, we will invite one TNM subscriber to the show. Write to us on what you would like to speak about to southcentral@thenewsminute.com
Send your thoughts, suggestions and criticism as well.
Timecodes
00:00:00:00 - Introductions
00:00:43:00 - Announcements
00:02:40:00- Headlines
00:07:15:00 - RG Kar and Sharon Raj cases
00:48:28:00 - PM Cares
01:14:14:00 - Recommendations
References
The H-1B visa debate: Where race, caste and systemic flaws collide
Sharon murder case: Why the court awarded 24-year-old Greeshma the death sentence
Bengaluru crime files: An engagement that cost an innocent life
Seven murders, one confession and missing evidence: The 'Ripper' story
I bailed my son out for love: Dhasvanth's father tells TNM it was his biggest mistake
TNM-NL Investigation: 30 firms facing ED, IT probe donated Rs 335 cr to BJP
Why are financial statements missing in PM CARES Fund reports?
Recommendations
Poonam Agarwal
Anup Surendranath
Leena Reghunath
Nandini Chandrashekar
Dhanya Rajendran
A Life in the Shadows : A Memoir
Become a subscriber. Click here.
Contribute to our reporting fund. Click here.
To check out our other shows. Click here.
To not miss any updates, join TNM's WhatsApp Channel! Click here.
Produced by Megha Mukundan, edited by Jaseem Ali.
For now, this podcast is outside the paywall. We hope you listen, enjoy and send it to a friend. And remember, we have a host of other work too: news reports, podcasts, video stories and interviews, all exclusively for subscribers. Click here to subscribe for quality journalism that is truly in public interest.
Newslaundry is a reader-supported, ad-free, independent news outlet based out of New Delhi. Support their journalism, here.
