A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana and comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant of the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that debates on TV channels are causing more pollution than anybody, with statements made in court being taken out of context. The court was hearing a plea relating to air pollution in Delhi and neighbouring areas.
Everyone has their own agenda, and statements are taken out of context in these debates, the bench said.
"You want to use some issue, make us observe and then make it controversial, and then only blame games will remain..," observed the bench.
"Debates on TV are creating more pollution than anybody. They don't understand what is happening and what is the issue. Statements are taken out of context. Everyone has their own agenda. We can't help and we can't control. We are focussing on working out the solution," it said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to television debates and said they claimed that he had misled the top court on the contribution of stubble burning to air pollution.
"I watched some irresponsible and nasty utterances on TV media against me that I misled the court on the question of stubble burning by showing that its contribution is only 4 to 7 per cent. Let me clarify," Mehta said.
"We were not misled at all. You said 10 per cent, but it was pointed out in the affidavit that it was 30 to 40 per cent," the top court retorted.
"This type of criticism is bound to happen when we are holding public offices. We are clear, our conscience is clear; forget about all this. These kinds of criticisms keep happening. Our conscience is clear, and we work for the betterment of society," the bench said.