A complaint was filed against Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari by the Delhi civic body. (File)
Highlights
- Manoj Tiwari had broke lock of a sealed building in September
- A contempt of court case was filed against the Delhi BJP chief
- Mr Tiwari had denied he did anything that amounts to contempt of court
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari was rebuked by the Supreme Court today for breaking the lock of a building which was sealed by the city's civic body in September. The top court, closing the contempt case against the lawmaker, described Mr Tiwari's action as "misplaced bravado" including his chest thumping.
A complaint was filed by the civic body against the parliamentarian from northweast Delhi constituency for breaking the seal of the building in Gokalpuri area in northeast Delhi. A Supreme Court-mandated panel on sealing then petitioned the top court for contempt action against Mr Tiwari. The building was sealed on the orders of the top court.
The Supreme Court said it was "extremely pained" at his conduct as he is an elected representative and should have behaved responsibly. The bench said Mr Tiwari levelled frivolous allegations against a court-mandated committee, which shows how "low he can stoop".
"The pick and choose policy of the Monitoring Committee and the illegal sealing actions, which have been highlighted by us, have been taken note of by the Supreme Court," Mr Tiwari said in a statement after the court closed the contempt case.
Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari broke the sealing of a building in northeast Delhi in September. (File)
The top court had earlier slammed the BJP leader for violating its directions on the sealing of illegal structures in the national capital, and said that being a lawmaker does not give him liberty to take the law in his hands.
Mr Tiwari had said that on September 16, he came to know about the sealing of an alleged "illegal dairy", and when he enquired with the civic body officials about it, they were not ready to offer any satisfactory explanation.
"Judges sit in this cozy area where nobody comes to question them. People question me, I am responsible," Mr Tiwari had told the court last month, denying that he did anything that amounts to contempt of court.
He had earlier said the court that he broke the seal as a "symbolic protest" against what he called the illegal actions of officials of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and was willing to accept the role of 'sealing officer' as suggested by the top court.
(With inputs from PTI)