AG Venugopal declines consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 28

Attorney General KK Venugopal has declined consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan for his recent tweet over Chief Justice of India SA Bobde’s visit to Madhya Pradesh, saying the activist-lawyer has already expressed “regret” for it.

“In these circumstances, do not think that it would be in public interest to give consent for proceeding on the basis of the original tweet in view of the subsequent tweet expressing regret. I accordingly deny consent,” Venugopal said in his November 8 letter addressed to advocate Sunil Singh which became public on Saturday.

Singh, a Supreme Court lawyer, had sought the Attorney General’s consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Bhushan for a tweet connecting “the personal life of CJI SA Bobde with a pending case before him.”

On November 12, Venugopal had given his consent to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his tweets insinuating the Supreme Court after it gave bail to Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case.

Terming Kamra’s tweets as “highly objectionable”, Venugopal had said in his opinion it “constitutes criminal contempt of court.”

Kamra’s tweets were not only in bad taste but clearly crossed the line between humour and contempt of court, said the Attorney General who has recently refused to give consent for initiating contempt of court proceedings against several persons, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.