The Attorney General of India has declined his consent for initiating criminal contempt of courts proceedings against actor Swara Bhaskar for comments on the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Babri Masjid and Ayodhya land dispute case; the comments were described by the petitioner as “derogatory,” “scandalous” and an “attack on the institution.”
Attorney General KK Venugopal said the statement was the “perception of the speaker” and did not “offer any remark on the Supreme Court itself or say anything that would scandalize or tend to scandalize… the authority of the Supreme Court”.
In my opinion, this statement does not constitute criminal contempt,” Venugopal said.
The comment made by Swara at an event in Mumbai was written out in the Attorney General’s letter: “We are living in a country where the Supreme Court states that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was unlawful and, in the same judgment, rewards the same people who brought down the mosque.”
Another comment made by Actor Swara, also written out in the Attorney General’s letter today, stated that “we are ruled by a government that doesn’t believe in our Constitution… we are ruled by police forces that do not believe in the Constitution… it seems we are now in a situation where our courts are not sure whether they believe in the Constitution…”
In his statement, today, Venugopal said that the actor’s comment, which is in two paragraphs, appears to be a factual one and is a perception of the speaker.
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