MEDIA TRIAL- THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION IS SUPERIOR TO THE LAW?

 The media is afraid of being accused of prejudice or bias. Instead of being objective and reporting the abuse and other chronic pain ongoing in the political culture, media is morally confused. In today’s time, the media is bribed by the wealthy individuals who have political affiliations in the era of democracy but if we consider the states having dictatorship, the media is controlled by the state and people over there are not morally confused because they are not informed of the ongoing in the world by morally confused. 

This article is an attempt to disclose and expose the democratic media that plot devices against people, makes them blind, and does not open their eyes. With special emphasis on the death case of a widely loved actor named Sushant Singh Rajput, the article is an attempt to focus on what if the actress Rhea Chakraborty is not found guilty? How fair and reasonable the media trail and the response of the public is? What if Rhea is innocent and is not found guilty of the allegations imposed on her so far? What if her mental state would no longer be stable, then the media would apologize? 

The media is one of the biggest sources of manipulation that sells the story by exaggerating the real facts. The actress Rhea Chakraborty has been centered in the Sushant’s death case and has been accused of abetment of suicide. Whether the media trail is fair when the CBI is in power to investigate into the case? Whether the media trial is raising probe to the competency of law and the concerned authorities? Whether the court of people opinion is superior to the court of law? Whether the media trail is to harass Rhea? 

Undoubtedly, the shocking death of Sushant has resulted in public hypothesis and speculation but that does not call for media trail of Rhea. She has been accused of the following allegations by the Bihar Police registered through the FIR which has now been transferred to the CBI-

• Rhea to boost her career in the Bollywood industry, got close to Sushant who was an established celebrity

• Rhea influenced her boyfriend and distanced him from his family

• She has been accused under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 of abetting the suicide of her boyfriend.

• She used to control Sushant and torture him

• She used to threatened Sushant to get the fake medical papers of his mental health and would defame him

• She did not take consent from his family while having his medical treatment

• She left the house of Sushant before his death with the valuables

 

Rhea’s Comeback to these Allegations:

Rhea Chakraborty filed a petition in the Supreme Court thereby stating that she has been falsely implicated in the case. Further, she admitted the fact that she was in a live-in relationship with Sushant and left his home 6 days to his suicide. Also, Sushant was suffering from the problem of depression and was consuming anti-depressants. However, the case filed against her was only to harass her, said Rhea.

The crucial question is that if someone gets annoyed with something, does that call for criminal law? Whether Rhea had a clear intention for abetting the suicide? If this is the case, then everyone could be held as an abettor in cases of suicide. 

It should be noted that all the aforementioned allegations were based on FIR and the Supreme Court has evolved a legal principle that states if by a plain reading of the FIR, no offense or statutory offense can be figured out, then the concerned person or accused cannot be held liable for that offense. However, if we take these allegations in entirety, these do not fall within the ambit of abetment of Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

In addition to this, the forensic report that states 'hanging' as the cause of the death of Sushant does not signify the foul play. The CBI and judiciary are there to interrogate the matter and decide on the facts and shreds of evidence presented. The media should support the justice system in focusing on two important and pivotal questions that if Sushant committed suicide, what prompted him to do so? If not, then who murdered him along with the angles of nepotism, money laundering, drugs, and other considerations?

The media trial of Rhea is making a mockery of the case and is insignificant. I understand that this trial is making a mockery of the justice set up of India. The media should be tried for exaggerating the case and harassing the actress Rhea. The court of law is capable enough to judge and find out the truth of the death case. Is it justified that Rhea has been trolled on several social platforms and has been abused out of no cause? 

   

Our Indian Justice System states that the foundational principle of criminal law does not hold anyone guilty until proven and as of now, Rhea is not proven guilty. So we should not give our conclusions as public panic is not good. The media should stop harassing Rhea and should rather provide a platform where mental issues such as depression could be addressed and awareness can be increased concerning the same. The media has spoiled the case which could be a better and mature investigation. Instead of complementing the legal system, the media has troubled and bullied Rhea; instead of accepting the truth that a man can suffer from mental illness, the media is continuously in a headstrong to designate and label woman murderer and drug dealer.

The question that whether Rhea is really guilty is still under the thought process of the intellectual people and not the people who are creating mess and giving their expert opinions thereby manipulating the facts.

Coming to the role of media, how much do you remember about the ‘Aarushi Talwar’s case’? The forensic evidence and the proof or the manipulative and speculative opinions of people? The media then suspected the parents of Aarushi and stepped to increase and louden the manipulative theories. The parents of Aarushi were convicted with life imprisonment and spent about 4 years before the High court of Allahabad acquitted them thereby dismissing the evidence as weak. However, at the later stage they were proved to be innocent but what about the media that made them the indicator of guilt and their identity would always remain tainted and ruined? Don't you think that media convicts people and try them based on emotions? The Talwars (parents) would never be freed from the suspicion of killing their daughter. 

The media is at its lowest ebb again after the Aarushi Talwar’s case and irrespective of the CBI & ED investigation and the Judiciary’s decision, the only and the sole thing that would prevail is the verdict that the media has given for Rhea Chakraborty by the way of different social media platforms thereby causing harm to her reputation and developing undefined amount of hatred towards her. 

                                                  

Therefore, the media should be tried in case if Rhea is proven non-guilty. The media should be tried for harassing her, for causing a threat to her, for publicly abusing her, for questioning her character, for labeling her a drug dealer and a social climber, for ignoring the concept of insensitivity, for causing her trauma, and for making her scapegoat of politics.

Gurneet Kaur

BBA LLB (H)

ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

Disclaimer: This article is the personal opinion of the author. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any Indian Government or any other Government of the world. This article is only opinion and does not render ant personal or professional advice.