'Ajit Doval said, "They are threatening us now".'
Justifying his decision to appoint a panel on fixing minimum qualification for journalists, Press Council Chairman Markandey Katju on Friday said the aim was not to "muzzle" the media but to improve the standards as there are a lot of "mediocre" professionals in the field.
As Katju, the BJP and the Congress continue their war of words, let's take a look at the many times the PCI chief has bravely shared his insightful opinions with the Indian public.
Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju, currently chairman of Press Council of India, on Monday stirred a controversy by alleging that three ex-Chief Justices of India had compromised in giving extension to an additional judge of Madras high court at the instance of the United Progressive Alliance government in the wake of pressure from one of its allies, apparently Dravida Munnetra Kazahagham.
Press Council of India chairman Justice Markanday Katju on Friday released a report on Gujarat polls which claimed that the malpractice of paid news was noticed on a large-scale in the recently held elections.
Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju has once again appealed to the president and the prime minister of Pakistan to release Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who is on death row for over two decades.
Press Council Chairperson Markandey Katju has demanded that the government reinstate Defence Research and Development Organisation scientist Aijaz Ahmed Mirza who was arrested on terror charges but released on bail as the National Investigation Agency did not file a chargesheet against him.
Indians ought to be all Indian nationalists first and those talking about Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian nationalisms are really anti-national, Press Council of India Chairman, Justice (retd) Markandey Katju said in Nagpur on Friday.
Press Council chief Justice Markandey Katju, who has requested Maharashtra Governor K Sankarnarayanan to pardon Sanjay Dutt in an arms case related to the 1993 Mumbai blasts, on Friday said he was lending his support to the Bollywood actor only on humanitarian grounds.
Without naming Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju who had criticised Bihar Chief Minister on Friday, Nitish Kumar on Saturday said some people were moving in the state like the 'Ramayana's character 'Kalnemi' to turn a vibrant atmosphere of the state into gloom.
Attacking Salman Rushdie, Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju on Monday said that the "sensationalism" depicted by his book Satanic Verses has deeply hurt Muslim sensitivities and that an individual's freedom of speech has to harmonised with the public interest.
The Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has said that social networking sites like Facebook and Google should be ready to face legal action on failure to remove objectionable content uploaded on them.
Chairman of the Press Council of India, Justice Markandey Katju, on Friday said that he was personally in favour of scrapping the sedition law. He also alleged that those who had slapped sedition charges had indulged in a serious offence and were liable to face criminal proceedings.
Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju on Saturday expressed reservation over the recent Supreme Court verdict, barring convicted lawmakers from contesting polls, saying it should be reviewed as "judiciary cannot make laws".
Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju has trashed the "sons-of-the-soil" theory, saying people propagating such concept should be ostracised.
Press Council of India Chairman Markandey Katju on Sunday objected to a Supreme Court judge's statement that Gita and Mahabharat should be taught in schools, saying this is against India's secular feature and Constitution and will do it "great harm".
After seeking pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt convicted in a 1993 Mumbai blast case, Press Council of India chairperson Justice Markandey Katju on Wednesday said he would now appeal to the President to grant pardon to another convict Zaibunissa on humanitarian grounds.
Press Council of India chairperson justice Markandey Katju on Saturday said that the only solution to the Kashmir problem is the reunification of India and Pakistan under a strong government which will not tolerate bigotry.
Noting the country is passing through a transitional phase, Press Council of India chairman Markandey Katju on Monday said social activist Anna Hazare and Yoga Guru Ramdev's crusade against corruption is nothing but an empty gas.
Seen as a prelude to the more serious RedInk Awards -- which celebrate the finest in Indian journalism -- the high-profile winners of the 'Ouch' awards included Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Days after the Supreme Court gave nod to Pakistani prisoner Khalil Chishti to visit his country, Press Council Chairperson Justice Markandey Katju has appealed to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to grant freedom to Sarabjit Singh, who is lodged in a jail there. In a letter addressed to Zardari, he said, "The Indian Supreme Court had recently allowed Chishti to go back to Pakistan. I, therefore, appeal to you in the name of humanity to release Sarabjit Singh," he wrote.
"We are all human beings and we all make mistakes. In my opinion, the appropriate order would have been to give a severe warning to the TV channel to be careful in future," Press Council Chairman Justice Markandey Katju said, addressing a seminar on the occassion of the National Press Day.
Pakistan is "a fake country", and one day will reunite with India along with Bangladesh, Press Council of India chairperson Justice (Retd) Markandey Katju said in Hyderabad.
Press Council of India chief Markandey Katju on Monday demanded "immediate" action against police personnel for reportedly arresting a woman in Mumbai protesting the shutdown in the city on Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's demise on social networking site Facebook.
Advocating self regulation in the broadcast sector, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni on Thursday defended Press Council chairman Justice Katju for initiating a debate on whether to have a regulatory body and for raising the issue in public.
Press Council of India chairperson Justice Markandey Katju may soon write a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking that actor Sanjay Dutt and 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Zaibunissa are not sent to jail till his application seeking pardon for them is considered.
In controversial remarks, Press Council Chairperson Justice Markandey Katju on Tuesday said that giving Bharat Ratna to cricketers and film stars, who have "no social relevance", is making a "mockery" of the award.
After his controversial remarks about the media Press Council of India Chairman Justice Markandey Katju has said "most people in India are of a very low intellectual level, steeped in casteism, communalism, superstitions and all kinds of feudal and backward ideas".
While slamming all and sundry, he rued that he got abuses and hate mails for his 'sincere attempts to pass on the knowledge acquired from his gurus'.
The Bharatiya Janata Party asked former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress to answer allegations of "improper compromises" by three former chief justices of India during the United Progressive Alliance rule, saying the matter was "unfortunate".
Amid furore created by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam members in Parliament for the second day running, the government on Tuesday admitted that a Supreme Court collegium during the United Progressive Alliance rule had recommended extension of a judge in Tamil Nadu who was under corruption cloud.
A revealing excerpt from Mani Shankar Aiyar's fascinating new book, The Rajiv I Knew.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, replying to queries from journalists in Patna, said the decision to send the team was taken after deliberations that took place over a couple of days.
After successfully fighting for the decriminalisation of Section 377, lawyers Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy have now decided to fight for legalisation of gay marriage in India, through The Marriage Project.
Killings in police encounters affect the credibility of rule of law and the administration of criminal justice system, the Supreme Court had said in a 2014 judgment while issuing a slew of guidelines to be followed in matters of investigating police encounters which have led to death or grievous injury.
An expert panel of India's central drug authority on Wednesday recommended granting regular market approval to COVID vaccines Covishield and Covaxin for use in adult population subject to certain conditions, official sources said.
The BCCI top brass will be facing charges of 'Contempt of Court' if they decide not to appear in front of the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Panel to discuss the implementation of the Apex Court's verdict within next six months. BCCI's legal advisor Justice Markandey Katju has termed the panel as "null and void" asking BCCI not to appear before them on August 9 -- the scheduled date of meeting.
Today, hour-long, high-pitched 'debates' at prime time, replete with inflammatory visuals and captions, using half-truths, insinuations and lies, pour venom against Muslims and seek to divide Hindus and Muslims, notes Jyoti Punwani.
Protests erupted in Madanpur Khadar area under the South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Thursday during an anti-encroachment drive by the civic body, with people pelting stones at security personnel which left a few injured, the police said.
Public-interest litigators Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who spearheaded a historic legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, along with Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani are among the Indians who have been named by TIME magazine in its prestigious list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list also includes Indian-American comedian and TV host Hasan Minhaj.
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