NEW DELHI: Attorney general KK Venugopal has refused to reconsider his November 2 decision declining consent to BJP member and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay to initiate contempt proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh CM and his principal advisor for making allegations against judges.
The topmost law officer, in his reply to Upadhyay’s letter seeking reconsideration of the decision, reiterated his stand saying that the issue of contempt was between CJI SA Bobde and CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy and his principal advisor Ajeya Kallam. Venugopal on Saturday also said the lawyer was not precluded from raising this issue on his own before SC judges or during the hearing of a PIL filed by him only seeking the lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers.
Upadhyay, on November 5, had urged Venugopal to have a relook on the decision and said, “I request you to peruse these points (particularly the fact that the question of contempt is not pending anywhere else) and kindly reconsider the granting of consent to my request.” “This is an issue of great importance at a time when our judiciary continues to be besieged by attacks, and a strong stand needs to be taken by those of us who are a part of the institution,” he said. In the November 7 reply, Venugopal said, “The very crux of the alleged contempt lies in the contents of the letter written by YS Jaganmohan Reddy to CJI, and thus open to the the SC to take up the matter of contempt suo motu as provided by Contempt of Courts Act, and rules made thereunder.”