AG grants consent for initiation of criminal contempt of court proceedings against Yati Narsinghanand

Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal on Friday granted consent to activist Shachi Nelli for initiation of criminal contempt of court proceedings against Yati Narsinghanand over his recent derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court.

The AG found that Narsinghanand's statement "those who believe in this system, these politicians, in the Supreme Court, and in the Army will all die the death of a dog", was a direct attempt to lower the authority of the Supreme Court in the minds of the general public, as per a report by Bar & Bench.

As per Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, the consent of Attorney General is required before the Supreme Court can hear a criminal contempt of court petition filed by a private individual.

Nelli had, therefore, written to the AG seeking his consent for the same.

In her letter seeking consent, Nelli had stated that in an interview given by Narsinghanand which went viral on social media platform Twitter, he went on to make his contempt for the Supreme Court and the Constitution of India clear by saying, "we have no trust in the Supreme Court of India and the Constitution. The Constitution will consume the 100 crore Hindus of this

country. Those who believe in this Constitution will be killed. Those who believe in this system, in these politicians, in the Supreme Court, and in the Army will all die the death of a dog."

Narsinghanand's statements were made in response to questions posed about the Court proceedings in the Haridwar Hate Speech cases

The letter moved before the Attorney General provided the entire quote of statements made by Yati Narsinghanand and also provided details on where the clip can be found.

As per the letter plea, Narsinghanand's statements undermined the majesty of the institution and authority vested in the Supreme Court and was an attempt at interfering in the course of justice by means of abusive, rhetoric and baseless attacks on the integrity of the Constitution and Courts.

"Any such attempt to harm the majesty of the institution and diminish the faith that citizens of India have in the Court can result in complete chaos and anarchy. This is perhaps the most vicious attack on the Supreme Court in its history," the letter stated.

It emphasised that to permit these remarks to pass unaddressed will be to allow this attempt of lowering the authority of the Supreme court to succeed, if not wholly then in considerable measure.

"The Supreme Court of India is the first interpreter and the guardian of the Constitution of India. It is appalling to see the lack of faith and sheer contempt being expressed towards the fundamental frameworks of this country. The intent to undermine the Court and its capacity to dispense justice is evident," the letter said.