Did Not Meet Kin In Lakhimpur Violence Case: CJI Calls Out Times Now Report

Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on Friday debunked a report by Times Now that said he had met the kin of victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence. Rubbishing the claim, CJI Ramana said how could he be in Lucknow, when he was in court.

The tweet of the report has now been deleted, but you can see an archived version of the same here.

The clarification came after advocate Agnish Aditya pointed out to an October 7 Times Now tweet that said that CJI Ramana had met the kin of the victims on Thursday.

"This is all TV things. It is so absurd. I am in court, how can I go to Lucknow?" CJI Ramana told senior advocate Harish Salve, who was representing the Uttar Pradesh government.

The Supreme Court was hearing its suo motu case on the violence that has erupted in the state since the Lakhimpur Kheri incident. On Thursday, it had asked the Yogi Adityanath government to file a status report on the FIR that has been registered and whether the accused have been arrested.

Also Read: Internet Shutdown At Lakhimpur Kheri: What The SC Has Said In The Past

Justice Surya Kant, who was part of the bench along with Justice Hima Kohli expressed his disappointment with the media while referring to the Times Now tweet. "We are sorry to see how media is exceeding its freedom of speech and expression. The CJI is gracious enough to let this go else (contempt) proceedings could take place," Justice Kant said.

"We respect freedom of media, but this is not the way to cross the limit," Justice Kohli added.

Salve told the bench that all, including him, have been victims of such tweets. "It (tweet) is so absurd and deserves to be treated with contempt, Salve added. To which CJI Ramana simply said: This is part and parcel of public life... let it be.

However, Times Now had issued an apology tweet clarifying their mistake. "Clarification: Due to an inadvertent error, the phrase "SP Chief" went as "SC Chief" on the broadcast at 15:29. TIMES NOW wants to clarify that any reference to the Chief Justice of India is unintended. TIMES NOW apologises for the inconvenience caused to the CJI, NV Ramana," the October 7 tweet read.

In a subsequent tweet, Times Now said that it "erroneously put out a tweet stating that the Honourable Chief Justice of India N V Ramana met the kin of Lakhimpur Kheri victim. The tweet is totally incorrect and hence deleted. TIMES NOW sincerely apologises for the error committed."