NL Hafta

This episode of NL Hafta features Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Madhu Trehan and Raman Kirpal, who are joined by Jaskirat Singh Bawa of The Quint as they discuss everything from judges’ vacation terms, to Jayant Sinha’s garlanding of convicted lynchers who were out on bail, and more. The panel first debates whether a 2-month break for judges is an indulgence. “The judiciary is stuck in a colonial condition. The vacation is from the colonial times, where the government moved to Shimla….It’s a matter of what you adjust to," says Madhu. “Having reported from the SC for 5-6 years, it is definitely an indulgence for the duration of time. Sure, a vacation could be well-deserved for the judges who are actually working 9 to 9…I can say for sure that none of the stakeholders who are actually involved…will support reductions in their vacation time, adds Jaskirat. The panel then discusses the ongoing Section 377 hearing at the Supreme Court. Speaking about the Centre’s reluctance to take a stand on the issue, Madhu says, “I would think that their inkling is to always veer towards the conservative, because their assumption is that their vote bank is more conservative.” Jaskirat expresses his views of Justices Singhvi and Mukhopadhyay, who reversed the Section 377 ruling in 2013: “They refused to recognise that criminalising this act is leading to misuse of it by the executive.” “Even if they agree to decriminalise 377, it is going to open a Pandora’s Box after that, because right now, they think we’re only dealing with decriminalising Section 377 and not talking in terms of gay marriage and other stuff," adds Raman. The panel then discusses the Supreme Court’s upholding of the death penalty for the perpetrators involved in the Nirbhaya rape case of 2012. In terms of the media coverage it got, Abhinandan points out, “It was a recurring theme across channels, if death comes after six years, is it still justice?” This is followed by a discussion on the Yakub Memon trial, death row, and the panel’s views on the death penalty. Next, the discussion moves to BJP politician Jayant Sinha’s garlanding of six persons who had been bailed from prison after being convicted of lynching in Jharkhand. The panel also offers their thoughts on why he would do such a thing. Jaskirat says, “At the end of the day, closer to the elections, they have to be active or closer to their vote base.” Madhu agrees, adding, “All the decisions are being taken with 2019 in mind.” Raman, feels the same, “The idea is to polarise and that is why it is happening.” On the other hand, Abhinandan feels it is a case of a son rebelling against his father. Abhinandan then suggests some explainers on the issue of ‘eminent status’ being granted to the proposed Jio Institute. For more on this, the SC-Centre tussle on the Taj Mahal, the misogynistic adultery law, and Netflix’s Sacred Games, listen in!