New Delhi, July 5
An advocate has written to Attorney General KK Venugopal seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against former Delhi HC judge SN Dhingra and two others for criticising the judges who said suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma was responsible for the violence that followed her remarks on Prophet Mohammed.
Advocate CR Jaya Sukin pointed out that in a TV interview Justice Dhingra had said the Supreme Court has no right to make such remarks and that the court imposed a charge and gave a verdict without listening to Sharma. Justice Dhingra had also termed the top court’s observations in Sharma’s case as ‘irresponsible’, ‘illegal’ and ‘unfair’, he wrote in the letter.
Sukin also sought contempt action against former Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi and senior advocate K Rama Kumar for criticising the top court’s remarks.
A Vacation Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Pardiwala had on July 1 refused to entertain Sharma’s plea seeking to club all FIRs against her and transfer them to Delhi and commented that she was responsible for the violence that followed her “irresponsible” comments.
“Justice S.N. Dhingra, Senior Advocates Aman Lekhi and K. Rama Kumar statements published in all electronic media, TV channels and social media. All above three persons made irreparable injuries to Indian judiciary and the nation by unparliamentary statements and derogatory remarks, hence falls within the scope of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971,” the letter read.
On July 3, TMC leader Saket Gokhale had urged the Attorney General to grant permission to initiate contempt proceedings against Opindia for allegedly publishing comments against Supreme Court judges.
In a letter addressed to Venugopal, Gokhale sought contempt proceedings against the web portal over its tweets/articles, saying they cast aspersions on the integrity of the Supreme Court and attempt to scandalise the country’s highest judiciary.
