Human Rights panel chief J B Koshy calls for restraint

Kochi: Kerala State Human Rights Commission chairman Justice J.B. Koshy has said the incidents that took place in courts in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi are unfortunate. “Both lawyers and journalists have the responsibility to guard the Constitution and the rights it guarantees and be the watchdogs of democracy,” Justice Koshy told DC.

“They should not be clashing with each other. Only a section of young lawyers who fail to heed the advice of senior lawyers is involved in the incidents. This is unlike what has happened in the past when senior lawyers could rein in youngsters when such situation arose.”

Justice Koshy said the journalists, too, should have shown some restraint by staying away from Kerala High Court on Wednesday, the second day of the incidents, when things aggravated. “The Acting Chief Justice himself had advised them to keep away for two-three days from the court so that things cool off. But it did not happen,” he said, adding that the media did not bring the complete picture of what happened to public domain.

When advocates stay away from courts in protest, the right of the people to get justice gets affected, he said.  “The Supreme Court itself had flayed this,” he said. “It should not become a fashion on the part of lawyers in Kerala to turn unruly as happened in Delhi and Chennai. Journalists should focus on reporting facts and not should not sensationalise or wrongly report,” Justice Koshy said.