TRP’s top criminal lawyer Satish Maneshinde has slammed the media for cooking up false stories saying TV channels try to manipulate and create public opinion but once the story is over it has no relevance .
In a conversation with Governance Now MD Kailashnath Adhikari, during a webcast of the Visionary Talk series organized by the Public Policy and Governance Analysis Forum, Maneshinde said that in cases related to the NDPS, suicides and murders of his celebrity clients, the media went crazy where It thinks it is carrying the message of the whole country.
“TV channels feel that they decide the whole country. They feel that they are the executive, the judge, the prosecutor, the judge and that they are going to deliver justice. They try to communicate their feelings to develop their own TRP, which has no relevance, doesn’t count after the story is over.”
In many cases, he said, those who run their own media campaigns end up in jails themselves. It is unfortunate that this is happening in the country.
Recalling the 1992 bomb blast case of actor Sanjay Dutt, which he was handling, Maneshinde said that a certain media company not only went after him and Dutt, but also went after judges and prosecutors and faked stories. Crafted. “The gentleman ended up in jail and was locked up. He was charged with serious crimes. It was divine justice. These crooks are not innocent,” he said.
Maneshinde said people like Sanjay Dutt or Rhea Chakraborty and many other celebrities who were implicated in criminal cases were embroiled in circumstances. He was not charged with any offense or was involved in an offense where he made profits.
Speaking on the ongoing pornography case of businessman Raj Kundra, the eminent lawyer said that the allegation in the case is that electronic methods were used for huge financial gains “…. I don’t get caught up in such dubious cases. If someone is accused of a crime which he did not commit and the circumstances are very serious and people are after that person then I will take up the matter and defend that person. But if you are doing the act of profiteering knowing that it is wrong, immoral and against the policy of our country. I have no sympathy for such people.”
Responding to a question on how the judiciary has adapted to the new normal mode of functioning, Maneshinde said physical presence is the best way for courts, but during the pandemic when the entire country was under lockdown and the government itself was working through virtual mode. Was getting it done. This was the only way to get justice to the common people of the country. Also, those who did not have access to electronic means could not get instant justice, while those with access to electronic means did not get instant justice. But now the government is providing all the facilities, almost everyone has a mobile device.
He said that during the lockdown, judges also heard petitions on WhatsApp and sat till 12 midnight to hear cases. “Many judges were hearing cases at 4 am and till 5 am. Despite the fact that the county was closed, the courts never closed.”
The eminent criminal lawyer said that 50% of his work is free as a large number of citizens do not get justice. He said that he gives priority to poor customers and those who are not financially affluent, who approach him without any prior knowledge or context, including those in the media and the press because at a time he himself was a Poor was a lawyer when he came to Mumbai.
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