New Delhi: Attorney General KK Venugopal has reportedly denied his consent for a contempt case against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over his remarks on the judiciary, saying that his statements are ‘too vague’ to lower the dignity of the institution in the eyes of people.
The AG observed that Rahul’s remarks made a general reference to judiciary and contained no specific reference to the Supreme Court.
He also pointed out that under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Attorney General has jurisdiction to grant consent for initiation of proceeedings for contempt only in respect of contempt of the Supreme Court.
Lawyer Vineet Jindal had written to Venugopal for consent to initiate a contempt of court case in the Supreme Court against the Congress MP for his remarks in a recent interview.
The rules require such a permission before the Supreme Court can hear any contempt case filed by a private individual.
“This country has a legal system where one had 100 per cent freedom to express their opinion. It is very clear that the BJP is inserting its people in all these institutions of the country. It is very obvious. They are taking away the institutional framework of this country,” Rahul was quoted as saying in the interview.