Attorney General KK Venugopal on Friday granted consent to initiate contempt proceedings against comedian Kunal Kamra for his November 18 tweet, saying it was “grossly vulgar and obnoxious” and tended to lower the Supreme Court’s authority.
Venugopal’s response came after a contempt request was filed by Allahabad-based lawyer Anuj Singh on Thursday.
Granting his approval, the AG said, “…is to deliberately insult the CJI which would equally be an insult to the Supreme Court of India itself, which the CJI heads.”
“The said tweet is grossly vulgar and obnoxious. I have no doubt that it (tweet) would tend to lower the authority of the Supreme Court of India as well as undermine the confidence that the litigant public have in the institution of the Supreme Court itself….I accordingly grant consent,” the AG said.
The AG’s fresh consent for contempt has come close on the heels of another contempt petition being filed against Kamra for a series of tweets where he criticised the Supreme Court’s favourable ruling on Arnab Goswami’s bail request.
In his letter dated November 12, AG Venugopal had said the tweets were a “gross insinuation” against the Supreme Court. “...the freedom of speech is subject to the law of contempt and I believe that it is time that people understand that attacking the Supreme Court of India unjustifiably and brazenly will attract punishment under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1972,” the AG said.
{{/usCountry}}In his letter dated November 12, AG Venugopal had said the tweets were a “gross insinuation” against the Supreme Court. “...the freedom of speech is subject to the law of contempt and I believe that it is time that people understand that attacking the Supreme Court of India unjustifiably and brazenly will attract punishment under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1972,” the AG said.
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