New Delhi: RSS ideologue and journalist, S. Gurumurthy informed the Delhi High Court on Thursday that he would not file a second affidavit offering an “unconditional apology” for his tweets directed at Justice S. Muralidhar, a serving Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court.
The suit is related to Gurumurthy’s speculative tweet in which he questioned whether Justice Muralidhar had been a junior to former Union Minister P. Chidambaram.
The tweet was sent out after a bench chaired by Justice Muralidhar halted the Enforcement Directorate’s from any coercive action against the former Minister’s son Karti Chidambaram.
The Justice Muralidhar-led bench acknowledged the tweet and stated that he has never worked as a subordinate to P. Chidambaram.
On Thursday, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani appeared on behalf of Gurumurthy and claimed that the tweet was removed after the court took cognisance and the judge’s clarification on the position.
Before a division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, he added that Gurumurthy had already submitted an affidavit in the case in which he expressed regret.
The court can put an end to the matter if the alleged contemnor files an affidavit with a two-line apology, the bench remarked, noting that the filed document was devoid of any apology.
“I am sorry, but this is not an apology. File a two-line apology and put a quietus to this. Say it on affidavit and the matter ends,” Justice Talwant Singh remarked.
In response, Jethmalani stated that Gurumurthy even appeared before the Justice Mridul-led bench and that there was no intention to commit the contempt.
However, the court emphasised that Gurumurthy might apologise in an affidavit and the matter would be resolved.
To this, Jethmalani said that Gurumurthy will not be filing another affidavit.
The bench, therefore, said that it will hear the issue on merits.
A criminal contempt petition was brought by the Delhi High Court Bar Associations (DHCBA) against Gurumurthy.
According to Justice Mridul, in addition to considering the case on the merits, the Court will also take into account whether the DHCBA is qualified to bring about such proceedings.
“Mahesh Jethmalani, learned senior counsel appears for Mr Gurumruthy and states that he has obtained instructions from the latter and it is their position that he has already tendered his apology in relation to the subject tweet and therefore there is no necessity for him to file a further affidavit expressing an unconditional apology in clear terms. List for futher proceedings on July 6,” the court ordered.
(IANS)
