New Delhi: Attorney General KK Venugopal avoided another controversy over attempts to restrict freedom of expression when he refused to consent to the initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan for his tweets criticizing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India (CJI) SA Bobde received a special helicopter from the Madhya Pradesh government. Venugopal said the activist-lawyer already regretted his comments.
On October 21, Bhushan, who had been found guilty of contempt earlier this year for tweets critical of the CJI, tweeted to say that the CJI used the special helicopter to visit Kanha National Park even when it was “a major case of Disqualification of the desertion of the MP MLA (Madhya Pradesh) is pending before him ”.
“The survival of the MP government depends on this case,” he added.
However, on November 4, he expressed his regret, saying in a subsequent tweet, “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. “
Elections were held yesterday 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. Sorry for this error in my tweet below https://t.co/SkX86iuJuS
– Prashant Bhushan (@ pbhushan1) November 4, 2020
Sunil Singh, a defender, sought the consent of the attorney general to initiate contempt proceedings against Bhushan, saying that the activist lawyer had linked “CJI’s personal life to a case pending before him.”
Upon hearing his appeal, Venugopal called Bhushan’s tweet “totally unjustified, inappropriate, devoid of legal basis and stubborn prima facie,” but refused to consent to contempt proceedings considering the regret expressed in his subsequent 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 MP’s legislative assembly pending before him were totally unjustified, improper, lacking legal basis and prima facie contumacious… ”Venugopal said in his response to Sunil Singh’s allegation.
However, he added, “I do not think it is in the public interest to consent to proceed on the basis of the original tweet in light of the subsequent tweet expressing regret.”
Defending Judge Bobde, the attorney general said that the CJI is one of the highest constitutional officials in the country and is entitled to receive special arrangements commensurate with the stature of his office. You have the right to adequate security, Venugopal observed. He added that the CJI was visiting a region affected by the Maoists, and that was why they gave it the installation of the helicopter.
“Therefore, it was the most prudent and appropriate measure for the state government to have the CJI transported by helicopter. The imputation of incorrectness, therefore, was improper and without application of the mind to these realities and is contumable ”, said Venugopal.
The attorney general said that Bhushan’s attempt to link the CJI visit to the disqualification case against some members of Congress who had joined the BJP and were appointed ministers in the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government “was also inappropriate.” He said that the CJI is entitled to special benefits in any case, and even in this case “… the fate of the MP government did not depend on the outcome of said case, since the resignations of said MLA had already been accepted by the previous speaker.”
A court chaired by the CJI, on November 4, resolved an allegation that had raised the issue of the processing of the disqualification process against the MLA in Congress.
(With PTI inputs)
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