No Consent For Contempt Case Against Rahul Gandhi, Says Attorney General

A lawyer's request to sue Rahul Gandhi for contempt has been denied by Attorney General KK Venugopal, who says his statements on the judiciary are "too vague" to lower the dignity of the institution in the eyes of people.

Lawyer Vineet Jindal had written to Mr Venugopal for consent to initiate a contempt of court case in the Supreme Court against the Congress MP for his remarks in a recent interview. The rules require such a permission before the Supreme Court can hear any contempt case filed by a private individual.

"This country has a legal system where one had 100 per cent freedom to express their opinion. It is very clear that the BJP is inserting its people in all these institutions of the country. It is very obvious. They are taking away the institutional framework of this country," Mr Gandhi was quoted as saying in the interview.

Vineet Jindal wrote that the Congress leader had insulted the judiciary and lowered its dignity with these comments.

The top government lawyer, however, disagreed, saying Mr Gandhi had made a "general" statement on the judiciary and had not specifically referred to the Supreme Court or judges.

"The question of my granting consent would not arise. In any event, I am of the opinion that the statements in question are too vague to be said to have lowered the authority of the institution in the eyes of the public," the Attorney General said.