New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Shiv Sena(UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut to appear physically before it on November 17 in a criminal contempt case over his alleged remarks against the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi also directed senior journalist Nikhil Wagle, the other proposed contemnor in the matter, to appear virtually on the next date of hearing, while observing that, if required, he could be asked to appear physically the following week.
The development comes after the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) initiated contempt proceedings against Raut and Wagle over their alleged remarks against CJI Surya Kant.
During the hearing, the Justice Kumar-led Bench was informed that Raut had filed a reply affidavit, but a copy of it was not available on record.
The apex court directed the registry to place the affidavit on record and ordered the Shiv Sena(UBT) MP to remain physically present at the next hearing.
Senior advocate Pradeep Rai, appearing for the SCBA, submitted that Raut had made further remarks and that Wagle had deleted the post only after the notice was served. He also referred to Raut’s subsequent social media posts about the burning of the Supreme Court of Albania and the possibility of something similar happening in India.
Meanwhile, senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for Wagle, drew the top court’s attention to his detailed affidavit, in which he tendered an unconditional apology for the controversial social media post and sought discharge of the show-cause notice.
Jaising submitted that Wagle had expressed deep regret and did not intend to justify his remarks.
Taking note of Wagle’s deletion of the post and expression of remorse, the Justice Kumar-led Bench said he should appear virtually on the next date of hearing, with the possibility of physical appearance to be considered later.
On October 16, the Supreme Court issued notice to Raut and Wagle on the criminal contempt petition filed by the SCBA, asking them to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. At that stage, the top court had exempted them from personal appearance.
The controversy arose after Raut claimed during a media interaction on October 12 that he had seen 60 to 70 judges, including the CJI, playing badminton with BJP leaders in London.
The remarks came after the CJI declined to meet the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, to receive a memorandum concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The CJI had said that convening such a meeting to discuss pending cases would run contrary to the constitutional principle of separation of powers.
The SCBA had submitted that it was pained to initiate contempt proceedings but felt that ignoring such remarks could encourage similar statements against the judiciary. The matter will now be heard on November 17 at 2 p.m.
(IANS)
