NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to hear next week a plea filed which flagged BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s recent criticism of the apex court and Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.
The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing by advocate Narendra Mishra before a two-judge bench led by Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih. Mishra mentioned that letters were given to the Attorney General and Solicitor General for initiation of contempt proceedings against the BJP MP but no action was being taken.
The counsel quoted Dubey as saying that the CJI was responsible for “civil wars” in the country and after the video of his remarks went viral, derogatory phrases were being used on social media for the top court.
Mishra requested the apex court to give direction to the remove social media posts and videos which are derogatory and contemptuous towards the judiciary.
“These statements are false, reckless, and malicious, and amount to criminal contempt,” said Mishra in his letter petition.
He said Dubey is an elected Member of Parliament and has shown gross disregard for constitutional remedies and chose to incite public distrust by misrepresenting the judicial process.
On Monday, the top court told another petitioner that he did not need its permission to file a contempt petition against Dubey over his remarks.
‘Remove online posts’
The counsel quoted Dubey as saying that the CJI was responsible for “civil wars” in the country and after the video of his remarks went viral, derogatory phrases were being used on social media for the top court.The lawyer requested the apex court to give direction to remove the posts which are derogatory towards the judiciary.