Attorney General K K Venugopal has declined permission to an advocate to file a contempt plea against actor Swara Bhasker. He refused his consent for initiating criminal contempt of court proceedings after Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker's alleged derogatory comments against the Supreme Court over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case verdict.
Contempt proceedings against a person needs the consent of either the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, under section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
Lawyer Anuj Saxena had sought consent from the court in the case. In his letter to Saxena on August 21, Venugopal said the statements by actor Swara Bhasker appears to be a factual one and perception of the speaker.
The letter addressed Swara Bhasker statement, which she reportedly made at a panel discussion on February 1, 2020. The statement was: "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".
An excerpt from Venugopal's two paragraph letter read, "In my opinion, this statement does not constitute criminal contempt."
“I do not think that this is a case where the offence of scandalising the court or lowering the authority of the court would arise. I, therefore, decline consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Swara Bhasker (sic),” wrote Venugopal.
