November 22, 2018:
On Wednesday, the Bar Council of Delhi has sent a legal notice to news channel Aaj Tak for depicting lawyers in bad light in one of its programs.
In one of the promos for a program titled ‘Sare Jahan se Sacha’, the channel depicts negotiations b/w a lawyer & his client about a rape case.
The lawyer is shown as saying “bachhche hain, galti ho jaati hai” (They are kids, they make mistakes) and “shamelessly demanding fees & extracting bundle of notes from a client to do the needful."
Notice states that the telecast is undoubtedly defamatory and casts serious derogatory aspersions on the legal profession.
It thus states that the depiction denigrates, scandalizes, and causes disrespect to the legal profession and seriously damages the image & reputation of members of the profession.
The notice reads, “The contents of the advertisement/promo of your TV program in toto is against the dignity, integrity and image of the noble profession of lawyers, apart from the contents being absolutely unethical, unprofessional and demeaning the whole issue of crime and violence against women, which is not expected from an esteemed and prime institution of electronic media like Aaj Tak."
The Bar Council has therefore demanded that Aaj Tak immediately stop the defamatory telecast.
It has also sought a public apology from Aaj Tak, failing which it would take civil and criminal action against the organization.
It has further asked the organization to deliver all the edited & original footage of the said program and disclose the names with complete address and other details of the institutions/channels where this program has been telecast till date.
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