With media continuing to be denied entry in courts in Kerala to report proceedings, veteran CPI(M) leader V S Achutanandan today sought the intervention of Supreme Court Chief Justice to restore normalcy.
A letter in this regard was sent to the Chief Justice of India T S Thakur.
Bringing to the CJI's notice the 'unfortunate events' which occurred in the premises of the Kerala High Court and subsequently in various other courts after a row erupted between media personnel and lawyers over the coverage of an alleged molestation bid by a Government Pleader, Achutanandan said "prolonging the situation was, in my opinion, is not at all good for a democratic society like ours".
"On July 19 and 20th there was an unprecedented pique between lawyers and media persons in which several media persons and a few advocates were injured. Following this, there exists a scenario where the press is denied access to the High Court and other courts in Kerala", he stated.
"The most unfortunate situation now emerged is the closure of the media room at the High Court of Kerala with instructions from the Chief Justice himself by which even the access of media persons to the High Court is totally denied", the letter, a copy of which was released to the media here, stated.
This was a "very serious issue, which even questions the very concept of open court", he said.
"I request your good office to step-in and do the needful, so as to restore normalcy in the premises of the courts in Kerala", he said.
