‘When Court Speaks For People, It Turns Anti-Govt?’: Kerala HC Laments Cyber Attacks On Judges

The Kerala High Court recently condemned the cyber-attacks being launched against judges for taking up issues of public significance.

“…The issue is that when the Court speaks for the people, it turns anti-government. I’m not sure how this happens. We are under cyber-attacks. What type of system are we establishing in which Judges cannot speak aloud? We are targeted because we initiated a Suo-motu action in this matter…It is the State’s responsibility to ensure that the Judiciary is also able to work,” the Judge stated.

Justice Ramachandran was alluding to social media posts made against his bench for initiating Suo motu action after the catastrophic boat accident in Tanur and the murder of a young house surgeon by a patient in police custody. The Court’s Registry brought the negative remarks to its attention.

The Judge revealed that the incidents had emotionally tired him, and that the judiciary was being attacked from the “left, right, and center. The Judge also noted a few ‘persons in robes’ among those levelling the attacks.

“This is not the way the system should operate. As far as we are concerned, we have a really healthy Bar. I’ve been a part of this Bar for the past 32 years. This Bar is familiar to me. But not the individual who responds in this manner. A healthy debate is taking place at the Bar,” Justice Ramachandran observed.

He continued, “Yesterday, the Senior Government Pleader S. Kannan informed us that the Government is with us in the matter of the young house surgeon’s death. That is not the issue. The problem is that other self-appointed authorities try to come in and walk as authority.”

The Court established prima facie breaches on the part of some government officials that resulted in the unfortunate tragedies. Today, the bench stressed that it is not attempting to micromanage the authorities, but that it has obligation to the State, the people, and the Constitution, and that it will intervene if those in power fail to do their duties. As a result, the State should not treat the two cases as adversarial litigations. The fact that 22 people have died, including a young doctor, indicates that there is a problem that must be resolved,” it stated.

“Until now, we have been very tolerant, which has been interpreted as weakness. The Lakshmana Rekha has been broken. Our voices will not be silenced. What others say does not frighten us,” the Court added firmly.