Contempt for the pen
September 18, 2007, Arvind Kejriwal, The Times of India
Prominent Right to Information (RTI) campaigner and Magsasay Award Winner, Arvind Kejriwal focuses on the need to bring the judiciary within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. In this editorial, he argues that while the judiciary is indeed respected, it is extremely necessary the judiciary needs to be made accountable and the way to do this is through the RTI Act which currently does not cover the judiciary. While the Indian judiciary itself has been seen as amongst the few institutions which preserve democracy, recent news-stories in the media questioning the conduct of certain senior (ex) judges came in for a major flak from the judiciary which held these journalists in contempt of court. The author posits that the judiciary lacks accountability and that suppressing exposure increases suspicion .The only way forward is encouraging a culture of transparency in the public domain which will enhance the dignity of individuals and institutions.