BJP MP Remarks On Judiciary: SCBA Condemns It; SC To Hear Plea To Remove Videos From Social Media

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has condemned the remarks made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against the judiciary and CJI Sanjiv Khanna and expressed hope that formal proceedings of criminal contempt are allowed by the Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani against Dubey.

In a resolution dated April 21, the SCBA said: "The Supreme Court Bar Association condemns the actionable intemperate statement made by the BJP M.P. Nishikant Dubey, who apparently told ANI that the Chief Justice of India Justice Sanjiv Khanna is responsible for 'all civil wars in the country'". Senior advocate Kapil Sibal is the president of the SCBA.

The resolution added that the MP further stated that "the Supreme Court is going beyond its limits. If one has to go to the Supreme Court for everything, then Parliament and State Assemblies should shut down....".

"This statement is not only defamatory but also amounts to contempt of the Supreme Court. This attack on the Supreme Court, as an institution, and qua the Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, as an individual, is unacceptable and must be dealt with in accordance with the law," said the resolution.

The lawyers’ association said it hopes that the AG R Venkataramani, charged with the responsibility of protecting the Constitution and the laws, who has reportedly received a petition seeking consent to proceed for criminal contempt against Dubey, will grant consent to protect the dignity of the institution and the dignity of the CJI Khanna.

In a separate development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear next week a plea which flagged Dubey's recent criticism of the top court and CJI Khanna, and sought the removal of derogatory videos from social media platforms.

In the morning, the matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih. The lawyer quoted Dubey as saying that the CJI was responsible for "civil wars" in the country and after the video of his remarks went viral, derogatory phrases were being used on social media for the apex court. The lawyer said, “This is a very serious issue….”. The bench asked the lawyer, "What (do) you want to file? You want to file a contempt petition?"

The lawyer requested the bench to issue directions to the social media platforms to remove these videos and informed the bench that he has already filed a petition in the matter in the apex court, and also emphasised that the government was not taking action against the MP.

The lawyer said one of his colleagues wrote to the AG seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Dubey, but there was no outcome. The apex court said the matter would be listed for hearing next week.