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Republic’s new clues in Rajput case, Prashant Bhushan finds support on Mirror Now, NDTV India

A quick take on what prime time TV news talked about.

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New Delhi: As a CBI team landed in Mumbai to take over the Sushant Singh Rajput case, Republic TV and Times Now got another reason to stick to it and dissect the situation even further, if that is possible. Mirror Now discussed advocate Prashant Bhushan’s Supreme Court hearing for his alleged contempt of court and what it means for freedom of speech and expression, as did NDTV India.

On Mirror Now‘s ‘The Urban Debate’ with Tanvi Shukla, Supreme Court lawyer Karuna Nundy spoke about the history of what contempt of court has meant in India and added that it is important to have “a truly independent institution…which doesn’t have a veto by the government, a body that can really look at allegations and deal with them so that neither do judges feel helpless or feel the need to resort to this draconian power which has been limited by statute, and nor do people feel there is no proper way they can make substantiated allegations.”

Senior advocate Anoop George Chaudhari, argued that, “You can’t take cognisance of a tweet which, in law, is not admissible. In criminal contempt matters, the permission of the attorney general is important in the Supreme Court.”

“If you challenge or hamper the court’s functioning, you may have caused criminal contempt,” countered senior Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Yuvacha.

NDTV India‘s Ravish Kumar told viewers, “Bhushan has said that he will not apologise for his tweet but will happily accept whatever be the penalty.” The anchor also talked about the CBI entering the fray in Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death investigation, and used that to shine a light on the agency’s probe of the murder of Narendra Dabholkar several years ago.

“The CBI hasn’t been able to catch the mastermind behind Dabholkar’s murder,” Kumar said. “Those indulging in a media trial don’t dare to go to Dabholkar’s story. It’s not only about having courage, but also moral force,” he said, mincing no words.

He also quoted NCP leader Sharad Pawar saying that after the Supreme Court approved a CBI probe for Rajput’s death, some people have been rejoicing as if the murderer has been caught.

As if on cue, Republic TV came up with yet another night of “explosive” footage of the involvement of Rajput’s reportedly close friend Sandip Ssingh as evidence in the case.

“The video clearly shows that Sandip Ssingh is right there, orchestrating everything. The two stretchers part, the supine position, all of it shows that there was a plan,” claimed senior lawyer Swapnil Kothari.

“Where is Sandip Ssingh getting all this money from? He is seen giving a thumbs up [to the Mumbai Police at Cooper hospital, when the actor’s remains were being transported for his funeral]. Who is going to ask these questions?” demanded BJP spokesperson Shweta Shalini.

Lawyer Ishkaran Bhandari noted, “A picture is worth a thousand words, and we are seeing multiple pictures. There are pictures of unauthorised people in the room, at the hospital, trying to enter the building.”

In the same vein, Times Now covered the case by exclusively interviewing author Chetan Bhagat. Is he a domain expert?

“Do you think there is political play in his murder — and I’m calling it murder simply because I’m convinced it is,” said anchor Navika Kumar with conviction.

“The media can discuss the case as much as they want. But till our agencies don’t investigate properly, collect evidence, we will not move forward. You may be convinced with a theory but the court won’t be, they need evidence,” replied Bhagat as he conveniently sidestepped the question.

On News Nation‘s ‘Desh ki Bahas’, anchor Deepak Chaurasia’s question of the hour was, “Will you burn us if we take Lord Ram’s name?” He was referring to reports of a female Muslim BJP leader from Aligarh being threatened with “banishment” from Islam, and even receiving death threats, for performing aarti in the Ram Mandir bhoomi pujan.

“Will Indian Muslims walk on the path of Allah or will they remain entangled in fatwas?” he asked. “Will you be killed if you take Ram’s name?”

The woman in question, Rubi Asif Khan, said, “This kind of regressive behaviour should be punished so that no other sister undergoes the same as me. When PM Modi sends lakhs of money to madrasas, no fatwa is issued then,” Khan argued.

She also cited the example of Salman Khan performing Ganesh puja. “These fatwas are only for the poor and the ones who are from the BJP. Till when will this continue?” she wanted to know.

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1 COMMENT

  1. You seem too much worried annoying the right/left wingers as you knowingly not write your opinion.
    Where as the viewers are thirsty of views/inferences drawn based on facts. Just stay truthful without worrying of the consequences and for that you would need people who are not into this materialistic race but see value in a simple yet fulfilling life.

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