November 28, 2020 10:12:21 pm
Attorney General KK Venugopal (Archive)
Attorney General KK Venugopal has refused consent to the initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan for his tweets criticizing the Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde receiving a special helicopter from the Madhya Pradesh government said the activist-lawyer later expressed regret.
On October 21, Bhushan had said that the CJI took advantage of the special helicopter during his visit to Kanha National Park while “a major case of disqualification of MLAs from MP (Madhya Pradesh) is pending before him. The survival of MP govt depends on this case ”.
However, Bhushan on November 4 lamented the mistake in his earlier tweet and tweeted: “Yesterday elections were held for the seats of the Cong MLA who defected in MP who were appointed ministers in the Shivraj government. The survival of the Shivraj government will depend on his re-election, not on the decision of the case in the CJI court that challenges his ministry. I’m sorry for this error in my tweet below. “
A lawyer, Sunil Singh, requested the consent of the highest legal official to initiate a contempt process against Bhushan for his tweet of October 21 in which he said that the activist-lawyer linked “the personal life of CJI” with a pending case before the.
Although Venugopal called Bhushan’s earlier tweet about the CJI “totally unjustified, inappropriate, devoid of legal basis and stubborn prima facie,” he declined consent considering the regret expressed in his later tweet.
“I am of the opinion that the allegations contained in three tweets that the Chief Justice of India committed a wrongful act by accepting facilities from the state of Madhya Pradesh during his visit to Kanha National Park while a case related to the disqualification of certain members of the MP legislative assembly was pending before him, they were totally unjustified, improper, lacking legal basis and prima facie obstinate for the following reasons, ”Venugopal said in his response to the lawyer.
First, he said that the CJI is one of the highest constitutional officials in the country and has the right to receive a protocol according to the stature of their office and that state guests have the right to be provided with adequate security.
The senior law enforcement officer said he was initially willing to grant consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings.
“However, I must draw your attention to subsequent events. He has expressed regret for the mistake made in his previous tweet on October 21. He has publicly stated that it was incorrect to state that the fate of the Madhya Pradesh government depended on the case.” . pending before the CJI ”.
“In these circumstances, I do not think it is in the public interest to consent to the proceedings on the basis of the original tweet in view of the subsequent tweet expressing regret. Consequently, I refuse consent, ”Venugopal said.
The Attorney General said that the region that the CJI visited has been a region affected by the Maoists and that is why they gave him the installation of the helicopter. It is significant to note that on November 4, a court headed by the CJI resolved an allegation that had raised the issue of the processing of a disqualification procedure against some members of the Congress of Deputies who had joined the BJP and were appointed ministers in the government of Shivraj Singh Chouhan. in Madhya Pradesh.
The high court, on August 31, had imposed a symbolic fine of one rupee against Bhushan as punishment in the contempt case against him. Bhushan was previously convicted of two tweets against the judiciary.
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