Mr. Venugopal says senior advocate’s remarks about the verdict will come under the purview of ‘fair comment’
Mr. Venugopal says senior advocate’s remarks about the verdict will come under the purview of ‘fair comment’
Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal has refused to give consent to a lawyer to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against senior advocate Kapil Sibal.
Mr Sibal had criticized a Supreme Court decision quashing Zakia Jafri’s allegations of a “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 riots and upholding the amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which The Enforcement Directorate was given almost unbridled powers. He was speaking at the People’s Tribunal held in the capital on August 6.
Mr Venugopal, in his letter to advocate Vineet Jindal, said “Shri Sibal’s statements relating to loss of confidence in the Supreme Court are not contempt on the face of it”. The AG, whose consent is mandatory to initiate contempt proceedings in the apex court, explained that the import of Mr. Sibal’s statements merely shows that the court’s orders are not applicable on the ground. He did not lay any blame or allegation on the court.
The AG said Mr. Sibal’s statements regarding the verdict would come under the purview of “impartial comment”.
Mr. Venugopal wrote, “After reading Mr. Sibal’s entire speech, I found that his criticism of the court and the judgments was so that the court could heed the statements in the larger interest of the justice delivery system.”