Source : SelfThere has to be some method is madness or when exhibiting idiocy. The senior advocates representing the West Bengal government in the Supreme Court in the case of the RG Kar rape-and-murder case are being trolled for representing the state government.
Some posts on X are convinced that the ruling TMC is responsible for the doctor’s murder. Some claim this is evidence of the lack of law and order in the state and that the Mamata Banerjee government should be dismissed.
All of these are political trolls. Specifically, from the right-wing fold. Some of them, unsurprisingly, are from the Congress and Left supporters. A few of these trolls are educated!
This shows that the incident has hurt everybody, all of us in fact, and there is palpable anger. The fount of disinformation and fake information emanating on social from Kolkata added fuel to the fire. People’s reactions became all the more abusive.
It is at this juncture that the fact checkers should have come in, to tell the people what the truth is. But where will the fact checkers get the information from?
Not even the Kolkata police or the Mamata government which made no such attempt to be transparent. All that the top cops did was to merely deny accusations. That made them all the more suspicious in the minds of the people.
Given the rising sentiments of doctors and civic society over the matter, the Centre could have sought a report from the Home Secretary of West Bengal. That did not happen. The state Governor, normally vocal in using Mamata as a dart board, was absent from the public sphere. He simply disappeared.
Under such circumstances, the Supreme Court rightly took suo moto cognizance of the issue. Hopefully, the case will not be investigated sincerely.
There is another important matter to be dealt with.
The trolling of the senior advocates, Kapil Sibal and Menaka Guruswamy, for representing West Bengal. This reaction springs out of ignorance of the Indian law.
Every person has a right to defence. Remember that. Here is why:
Article 22 of the Constitution of India states that "No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice."
Article 22(1) of the Constitution provides that all persons have a right to be defended by a counsel of their choice. The Supreme Court clarified in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Shobharam & Ors. [AIR 1966 SC 1910 (Supreme Court of India, 5 Judge Bench)] that Article 22 was not restricted to cases involving arrest.
The Cr. P.C. provides that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has a right to have the assistance of a counsel and the Cr. P.C. also requires the court in all criminal cases, where the accused is unable to engage counsel, to appoint a counsel for him at the expenses of the State.
Article 14 provides for equality before the law and equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.
Article 39A, part of the DPSP, states that equal opportunity to secure justice must not be denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities, and provides for free legal aid.
SC: Every person however wicked, criminal, perverted or repulsive he may be regarded by society has a right to be defended in a court of law and correspondingly and it is the duty of the lawyer to defend him.