Rathore's wife claims media hype in Ruchika case

As the Ruchika molestation case fuelled a debate whether there is media hype, the judge who rejected the anticipatory bail of Haryana's former director general of police S P S Rathore said the role and importance of the media "cannot be denied or undermined" though sometimes it "oversteps its limits".

Additional District and Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jindal made this observation while taking note of Rathore's lawyer-wife Abha's stinging attack against the media during court arguments for conducting a trial of the 67-year-old former top cop and allegedly putting pressure on authorities.

"It is also worth mentioning here that during the course of arguments, the counsel for the accused (Abha Rathore) also lambasted the media by saying that the media has assumed the role of prosecutor and judge as well and wants to publicly hang the applicant-accused (Rathore)," he said.

Jindal while mentioning that sometimes the media "oversteps its limits" and becomes extreme pro-active in highlighting the things "without going to the root merits thereof", however had a word of praise for the media.

"As a fourth pillar of the democracy, the role and importance of the media cannot be denied or undermined and further that in certain other cases, the media has come to the forefront to aid and help the most deprived and down-trodden segments of the society in a bid to save/protect them from the atrocities and high handedness of the system of the country and in order to secure justice for them," he observed.

"Judicial system of this country and the courts of law established thereunder, in the past have not been swayed by the media hype nor they would be swayed in future by any media consideration as the courts of law have been and would keep on discharging their duties in accordance with law strictly on the merits of each and every case," he said.