On a 24X7 news channel yesterday, the anchor was asking a question and urging people to vote through SMSs (news channels’ just another tool of citizen journalism they have). The question was’ Is media the last hope for justice delivery in Gujarat? 61% People (tough to know the numbers of people) answered in NO and 39% people answered in YES. That means majority almost 1/3rd of the people who responded to the question rejected the idea of mounting pressure by Media on the Judicial system in the cases of Gujarat riot.

People’s response was a tight slap on the face of the some group of electronic media people who were desperately trying to arm media with a new function’Media Trial. Is there any need to mount pressure on Judiciary or influence the judicial system by creating hype in any case? According to the constitution of India, the judiciary has the power to decide who is culprit in any matter and to the punish offenders through the due process of law.

Harish Salve, amicus curiae to the Supreme Court in the riots cases, said the media cannot and should not influence the judiciary in any case. Media, by presenting the both sides of the coin, may build pressure on the administration to look into the matter with honesty. How can media decide who is victim and who is accused.

The media must not claim of being a hope for justice in the country when it cannot get its facts right. We all know what reporter says is not always the truth. In Tehelka sting, this was being said repeatedly that Gujarat CM Modi didn’t deploy the army for three days after the Godhra train burning on February 27.

BJP MP BP Singhal said that the Godhra occurred on February 27, next date was Feb 28 and the Army started taking control of the affected areas on March 1. Now, if we believe on media reports, the Army started flag march on March 3. This is not the truth at all. February doesn’t have 29, 30, 31 dates.

This is also being said that the much-hyped Operation Kalank has failed to generate much talk among the people of Gujarat. The heated discussions are limited to the political circles and the media and the content of the discussion is mostly about who the sting actually benefited? Political analysts and local media professionals in the state have started doubting the authenticity of the entire operation.

According to them, what the leaders like Haresh Bhatt and Babu Bajrangi said on camera are far from the truth. Like Godhra MLA Haresh Bhatt saying they got weapons from Punjab. Bhatt’s statement that he manufactured and used rocket launchers during the riots is also being dismissed by terming as baseless.

Bajrangi’s statements like ‘Modi has done for Gujarat that no other chief minister can do’ is being seen as the act of either glorifying or defaming Narendra Modi. Congress itself is claiming that it seemed as if the entire operation was executed to benefit the BJP. ‘’The telecast could have benefited BJP in garnering votes in the name of Hindutva.

This may be said that the judiciary is over-burdened and it is in a horrible state but the media no way can fill in. The media is giving mega-publicity to the riots by using words like genocide. This can be said as a practice to add fuel in the fire. Media is not meant for doing any kind of trial but to present the truth to the public and administration in some cases. Some people may say that because of media hype, justice delivered in some cases. But, it doesn’t happen all the time. We don’t need media trials.