Governor HR Bhardwaj said that journalists cannot be banned from entering court premises and cited some Supreme Court rulings in this regard.
Governor HR Bhardwaj has assured mediapersons that action will be taken against advocates who assaulted them on the City Civil Court premises on Friday and would seek a detailed report about the incident from the chief minister. Earlier mediapersons had taken out a march to Raj Bhavan in protest against Friday’s incident.
The governor said assaulters caught on camera should be arrested. “There should be no problem to initiate action against them,” he maintained.
Bhardwaj blamed intelligence failure for the attacks on media. “Precaution should have been taken and as there was no preparation, it led to violence,” he said.
He further said that journalists cannot be banned from entering court premises and cited some Supreme Court rulings in this regard. He also advised mediapersons to not to lose trust in judiciary. “Judiciary will not take influence either from the government or from the lawyers,” he maintained.
Journalists protest
Earlier in the day, journalists assembled on the Press Club premises in large numbers and shouted slogans against the advocates and the government’s inaction. They then took out a protest march to Raj Bhavan.
Members of Bangalore Reporters’ Guild, Press Club, Karnataka Union of Working Journalists, Bangalore TV Reporters Association, Bangalore Photo Journalists Association and Karnataka Video Journalists Association took part in the protest.
In a memorandum submitted to the governor, the journalists have sought his intervention with respect to increasing attacks on media by advocates. The memo also highlighted that the police have become mute spectators and Bangalore Advocate’s
Association and Bar Council have done little to discipline the legal fraternity.
The memorandum also said that the court administration is not bothered about the behaviour of the advocates, who protested against a former chief justice of Karnataka, had even assaulted one of the sitting judges. Even at that point of time, the court did not try to discipline the advocates.
Bidari summoned
Meanwhile, HR Bhardwaj summoned state DG & IGP Shankar Bidari to Raj Bhavan on Saturday in the backdrop of attacks on media and police by advocates.
The meeting lasted 45 minutes. According to sources, the governor had taken stock of the situation and asked Bidari to take action against the culprits.
Later, a high-level committee including Bidari, chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda, home minister R Ashoka, city police commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji and chief secretary SV Ranganath, was formed and a meeting was held at Shakthi Bhavan. Detailed discussions were held as to prepare the guidelines and handle the situation in the backdrop of attacks on media by the advocates.
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