<p>Though the attack on journalist at the Delhi court during the hearing of JNU sedition case “a terrible exception”, Arun Jaitley said courts are not for protests and gatherings there are unacceptable. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The Finance and I&B Minister said the courts must remain "detached" and should not be carried by issues or trends of the moment as anything on the contrary would be a threat to free speech and a fair trial.<br /><br /> "The whole idea of (media) getting dragged into a controversy and then attacking physically is absolutely unacceptable anywhere, more so in court,” Jaitley said, speaking after presenting the International Press Institute award for excellence in journalism to Malayala Manorama's M Shajil Kumar here. “Courts are certainly not for protests. They should stay detached and courts cannot be carried away by trends. The attack on journalists in Patiala courts complex is a complete aberration and will be frowned upon," he added.<br /><br />Noting that the recent trend of Bar Associations passing resolutions not to attend to certain people creates a prejudicial environment, Jaitley said: “The more serious the offence is, the more avenues should be there for the accused to defend himself.” "The Bar Associations preventing lawyers from arguing something is like media boycotting somebody or some function when their job is to report," he said.<br /><br />Jaitley said conventional definition of news "no longer holds true", adding what makes news is "predominantly what is captured in the camera".</p>
<p>Though the attack on journalist at the Delhi court during the hearing of JNU sedition case “a terrible exception”, Arun Jaitley said courts are not for protests and gatherings there are unacceptable. <br /><br /></p>.<p>The Finance and I&B Minister said the courts must remain "detached" and should not be carried by issues or trends of the moment as anything on the contrary would be a threat to free speech and a fair trial.<br /><br /> "The whole idea of (media) getting dragged into a controversy and then attacking physically is absolutely unacceptable anywhere, more so in court,” Jaitley said, speaking after presenting the International Press Institute award for excellence in journalism to Malayala Manorama's M Shajil Kumar here. “Courts are certainly not for protests. They should stay detached and courts cannot be carried away by trends. The attack on journalists in Patiala courts complex is a complete aberration and will be frowned upon," he added.<br /><br />Noting that the recent trend of Bar Associations passing resolutions not to attend to certain people creates a prejudicial environment, Jaitley said: “The more serious the offence is, the more avenues should be there for the accused to defend himself.” "The Bar Associations preventing lawyers from arguing something is like media boycotting somebody or some function when their job is to report," he said.<br /><br />Jaitley said conventional definition of news "no longer holds true", adding what makes news is "predominantly what is captured in the camera".</p>
