TMC Leader Saket Gokhale Seeks Initiation Of Criminal Contempt Against OpIndia For Allegedly Insulting SC Over Oral Remarks Made In Nupur Sharma's Case

A letter has been written by TMC leader Saket Gokhale to Attorney General of India K.K. Venugopal, for seeking initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against the web portal OpIndia for allegedly insulting the Supreme Court over its oral remarks made in former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma's case.

The development came after the Top Court earlier this week came down heavily on Nupur Sharma while hearing her petition to club FIRs over remarks on Prophet Mohammed.

"Nupur Sharma Single-Handedly Responsible For What Is Happening In The Country": Supreme Court On Her Comments On Prophet Mohammed

The vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala slammed the former BJP spokesperson for making "disturbing" statements against the Prophet Mohammed on the national television. It also noted that she tendered a mere "conditional apology", that too after a public uproar against her remarks.

In the letter plea, Gokhale has sought contempt action against the web portal over their tweets and articles by claiming that the same not only cast aspersions in the minds of people on the integrity of the Supreme Court but they also attempt to scandalize the nation's highest judiciary. Apart from the web portal, the letter also seeks initiation of contempt action against its editor editor Nupur J Sharma.

The letter refers to a tweet dated July 1 published by OpIndia which reads "Supreme Court speaks like Islamists, conducts a witch trial blaming Nupur Sharma's 'loose tongue' for Hindu man's beheading by Islamic fanatics."
 

The letter adds that the said tweet was accompanied by an article titled "Supreme Court follows Sharia?"

"The above-mentioned tweets of OpIndia and statements from the articles published by them and written by their editor Nupur J Sharma clearly scandalize and lower the authority of the Supreme Court of India in the minds of ordinary Indians and casts grave, false, and malicious aspersions on the oral observations made by the respective Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India," the letter reads.

Gokhale has averred in the letter that alleged acts are clearly punishable as criminal contempt of court under sec. 2(b)(i) of The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.


The letter thus seeks consent from the AG for initiation of contempt of court proceedings against OpIndia website and its editor Nupur J Sharma.

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