Supreme Court judges Row: How International media reported the unprecedented event

Four major international media reported the unprecedented incident of Supreme Court judges speaking out. From unprecedented to dramatic, here’s what they termed it.

Yesterday India witnessed an unprecedented event when four top judges of Supreme Court believed that speaking to media was their last resolve. Justice Chelameshwar– the second topmost judge after Chief justice of India Dipak Mishra led the charge with three fellow colleagues. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the third senior-most judge who is next in line to be CJI after Dipak Mishra’s retirement accompanied Justice Chelameshwar with Justice Lokur and Justice Joseph Kurian.

The four unanimously voiced their concern for administrative mismanagement in the judiciary. The judges also alleged CJI Dipak Mishra of turning a blind eye to concerns of the fellow judges. However, the most controversial remark and a serious warning by the judges was “Democracy is in danger.”

Just In: Judge Loya's mysterious death was mentioned by the four judges. there must be a highest level investigation in the case. @OfficeOfRG #SupremeCourt #HWNewsNetwork pic.twitter.com/RucwGAxGQG

— HW News Hindi (@hwnewsnetwork) January 12, 2018

Being the world’s largest democracy, the remarks can have serious consequences also first of its kind in the history of India. The event sent shockwaves across the country. While the domestic media mostly refrained from aggravating the issue further, let us also look at how International media reported the development that is unprecedented for any democratic country.

• Al-Jazeera:

The report appeared in Al-Jazeera goes with the headline “Supreme Court judges lash out at chief justice” written by Zeenat Saberin. The report begins with a lead “Four senior judges of India’s Supreme Court have lashed out at the workings of the country’s top court, directing blame at Chief Justice Dipak Misra.” The report further dives into the details of the press conference. It also quotes Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan who recently had a courtroom feud with CJI Dipak Misra in MCI bribery case. Prashant Bhushan is also quoted as saying “If he (the chief justice) doesn’t resign, then I believe there will be an impeachment.”

• BBC:

Compared to Al-Jazeera’s reportage BBC’s report titled “India Supreme Court judges: Democracy is in danger” divulges into the story behind the story. While the report talks less about the press conference, it gives considerably more space to the letter sent by the Supreme Court judges, Judge Loya’s mysterious death invoked by the judges. It also dedicates few lines to explain the MCI bribery case which is also speculated to have led to this outburst. The report includes internal links to op-eds on Indian Judiciary.

• New York Times:

New York Times has relied on agency report from The Associate Press. The report overviews the reason and content of the press conference. However, it also raises the issue of the collegium. The issue had led to a spat between Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and CJI Dipak Mishra. It does not mention the death of judge Loya or the MCI bribery case.

• The Guardian:

The Guardian’s report with headline “India’s top judges issue unprecedented warning over the integrity of supreme court” highlights the urgency of the news. The report describes the press conference as ‘Extraordinary’, ‘unprecedented’ and even ‘dramatic’. “The four judges, the most senior members of the bench after the chief justice, abruptly left their courtrooms on Friday morning and called the first press conference by members of the usually solemn institution,” cited the second paragraph of the report. The report gives details of the press conference and does not mention judge Loya’s death case. It ends the report highlighting the fact that Indian Supreme Court is bigger than that of UK and US with 31 judges.