Justice Katju Says Neelu Vyas Repeated the Same False Claim Three Times
The London Badminton Event Controversy Explained
Katju Cites Video Statements to Challenge Neelu Vyas' Defence
Why the Alleged Participation of 75 Indian Judges Became Controversial
Katju Responds to Personal Attacks by Advocate Arun Agarwal
The Debate Over Fake News, Media Ethics and Judicial Accountability
Justice Katju Rejects Allegations of Threats Against Neelu Vyas
Justice Markandey Katju alleges that journalist Neelu Vyas repeated false claims for a third time about 75 Indian judges attending a London badminton event, calling it fake news.
Neelu Vyas peddles a lie for the third time
By Justice Markandey Katju
The phoney 'journalist' Neelu Vyas, who thinks good journalism lies in creating sensations, even if they are based on fake news ( as that increases circulation and ratings), has peddled a lie for a third time regarding the London badminton event, in which 75 Indian judges supposedly participated.
She and advocate Arun Agarwal had put up a show regarding an event in London where 75 Indian judges allegedly participated
To which I responded, denying this, and mentioned that I have spoken to many Supreme Court and High Court judges ( including Justice Vikram Nath, presently the second seniormost judge in the Supreme Court, who will be the CJI in the coming February when the present CJI retires ), and they have denied that any judge went to London to play badminton ( except 2 Judges of the Allahabad High Court who are good badminton players ).
In response, Neelu put up a second show with Arun Agarwal about the London badminton event
In this second show on the topic, Neelu said repeatedly that in her previous show, she only mentioned about the invite to judges, but did not say that the judges accepted the invitation and went to London to play badminton. This is a total lie. In the first show, Neelu and Arun Agarwal repeatedly said that 75 judges went to London to play badminton.
In the second show, Arun Agarwal spoke of matters totally unconnected with the topic in issue e.g. that I receive 'moti' pension, that there was a contempt of court case against me, that I had given evidence in support of Nirav Modi, etc. Not a word did he say that in the first show he spoke a total lie that a large number of judges went to London to play badminton, and neither did Neelu. Like a slick, oversmart lawyer, Arun Agarwal diverted the issue by launching a furious personal attack on me.
I will quote some of the exact words these liars used in the first show :
Neelu says in the beginning of the first show : Ek poster mein dikhaaya gaya hai ki Law Minister ke saath 75 judges London mein chuttiya manaa rahe hain. Ab aap yeh sochiye ki yeh saare judges chuttiya manaane ke liye London kyon gaye?
Neelu therefore presumes that the judges did indeed go to London.
Neelu then says: Justice Surya Kant aur unke saath 75 judges, poore judges ka kunba chutti manaane ke liye wahaan ( i.e. London ) pahunche hain. -- Aakhir yeh maajra kya hai ? Kyon 75 judges wahaan ( i.e. in London ) pahunche hain?
Arun Agarwal said that judges going to London to play badminton was vulgar and obscene.
He said: Inhone England mein apni aur poore desh ki beizzati karaayi hai. Agar judges ko fit rehna hai to chutti manaane kya London jaana hai? Kya yeh SIR ke faisle ka reward hai ? The event was sponsored by corporates. Kya corporate bidding hui hai?
Neelu then asks: Is cheez ki ijaazat kaise mil gayi?
Thus, impliedly she repeats her lie that 75 judges went to London to play badminton, and wants to know who gave permission for that.
Arun Agarwal says: Tournament ek bahaana tha. Ek hi 5-star hotel mein reh rahe hain, chai paani kar rahe hain. Ek nahi, do nahi, 75 judges ke jaane ki logic kya thi ? Collegium ke 3-4 judges bhi the. Wahaan jaakar apna mazaaq udwaaya. Kam se kam India mein kar lete. Foreign exchange bach jaata. Wahaan ka ( i.e. London ka ) badminton court itna achcha hai?
Neelu says: Kitne log poochenge ki London jaane ki logic kya thi? Kya yeh ek ghinauna circle nahi saamne aa raha hai ? Jab invite mila hoga kya unki aatma ne nahi bola hoga ki yeh judicial impropriety hai. Yeh to khule aam kar rahe hain, aur woh bhi videshi zameen par. Kis basis par un judges ( i.e. judges who presumably went to London ) ka selection hua?
Arun Agarwal says: In 75 judges mein kitne badminton ke khiladi hain, aur kitne khilaadi? Aap is tareh se London mein celebrate kar rahe hain, jabki poore desh mein economic crisis hai. God help this country
Neelu also says: Jaise sar-e-aam neelaami hoti hai, usi tareh judiciary ne apne ko benaqaab kar diya hai, bilkul neelaam ho gayi hai
Now does this not reveal that in the first show, both Neelu Vyas and Arun Agarwal were peddling a lie that 75 judges went to London to play badminton? And when I exposed them, instead of admitting their lies, Neelu said that the first show was only about an invite, and she and Arun Agarwal never said that 75 judges went to London to play badminton ( which was totally false, as can be seen from her own and Arun Agarwal's words in the first show, which I have quoted ). Neelu repeatedly said in the first show that 75 judges went to London to play badminton, and Arun Agarwal launched a personal attack on me, thus trying to divert attention from the topic under consideration, like a slick, oversmart lawyer skilfully avoiding all that he said in the first show.
God help this country if we have such phoney journalists who talks of the 'atma' of judges, but seems to lack one herself.
Now Neelu, the oversmart lady that she is, has put up a third show, again peddling lies.
In this third show, she again spoke a lie that in the first show she only mentioned an invite. In other words, she claims that she and Arun Agarwal never said that 75 judges went to London to play badminton. But she is exposed by her own words in the first show ( which I have quoted ).
Neelu repeatedly said that neither the CJI nor the Law Minister denied the invite. In response, I would like to firstly say that they are under no obligation to issue public denials of everything. Secondly, even if there was such an invite, neither the judges nor the Law Minister accepted the invite and went to London to play badminton. So how is it relevant? It is much ado about nothing.
Neelu claims in the third show that she has received threats of physical assault on her for putting up the show. Whether this is true or not I cannot say, and all I can say is that I never gave her any such threat. If anyone else gave it, I am not responsible for that. But I have a hunch that Neelu is playing the victim card to attract attention and sympathy, having been caught red-handed in the act of spreading fake news.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India and a former Chairman of the Press Council of India. These are his personal views.)
