Sting ops put pressure on judges

Rohini Salian
‘Exposing’ has to be done in a restrained manner. Every accused has the ‘right to silence’. Media should respect that. Only the court can pronounce an accused guilty. The problem with sting operations is that it puts undue pressure on the judicial system.

If media passes judgments, why have a judicial system? Sting operations are overdone at times. The media should maintain public faith. Every media house has its set of policies.

But a media house cannot be politically inclined nor can it give a biased opinion. Therefore, the media should ideally function on three elements — independence, freedom and restraint with finally truth prevailing.

Rohini Salian is Public Prosecutor at Bombay high court. She spoke to Gautam Sheth