The Supreme Court today sought the response of Ghaziabad's Dasna Devi temple priest Yati Narsinghanand in a contempt petition filed against him for alleged derogatory remarks against the court last year.
A bench of Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh issued notice to the priest and asked him to file his reply on a plea filed by activist Shachi Nelli.
During the brief hearing, senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan informed the bench that they have received the consent of then attorney general KK Venugopal for the contempt petition against the alleged contemnor Narsinghnand.
The Supreme Court had, on October 10 last year, asked the petitioner to furnish a transcript of contents of the video carrying the statements made by Narsinghnand.
On January 22, 2022, Mr Venugopal had granted his consent to a request made by the activist for initiation of contempt proceedings against the priest.
According to Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, consent of the Attorney General is required before the Supreme Court hears a criminal contempt petition filed by a private individual.
Ms Nelli, in her petition, pointed out an alleged contemptuous statement made by Narasinghnand in an interview given to a Youtube channel which went viral on social media on January 14, 2022.
The statements were made in the interview conducted in context of the Haridwar hate speech case pending in the Supreme Court. "The statement being so obviously contemptuous of this court, the petitioner, a social activist, wrote to the Attorney General for consent to initiate contempt against the alleged contemnor, who has granted the same", the petition said.
It added, "The alleged contemnor has a huge reach and influence and his statement has been spread far and wide by his followers and sympathisers, leading to widespread disaffection for this court, thereby undermining its authority and bringing its majesty into disrepute".
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