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Yati Narsinghanand. (Twitter/NarsinghVani) Attorney General K K Venugopal on Friday gave consent to a Mumbai-based activist to initiate criminal contempt-of-court proceedings against Yati Narsinghanand for his remarks about the Supreme Court and the Constitution, saying they were “a direct attempt to lower the authority of the Supreme Court in the minds of the general public”.
“I find that the statement made by Yati Narsinghanand that ‘those who believe in this system, in these politicians, in the Supreme Court and in the Army will all die the death of a dog’ is a direct attempt to lower the authority of the Supreme Court in the minds of the general public,” said the attorney general, adding the remarks made during a January 14, 2022 interview “have been explained to me”.
Activist Shachi Nelli wrote to Venugopal on Friday that the controversial priest’s remarks were “trying to undermine the majesty of the institution and the authority vested in the Supreme Court court of India”.
Under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the consent of the attorney general or the solicitor general is necessary before the Supreme Court can take cognisance of a contempt-of-court plea filed by an individual.
Narsinghanand, according to Nelli’s letter, had replied to a question about the court proceedings against him in the Haridwar hate speech case, “We have no trust in the Supreme Court of India and the Constitution. The Constitution will consume the 100 crore Hindus of this country. Those who believe in this Constitution will be killed. Those who believe in this system, in these politicians, in the Supreme Court and in the Army will all die the death of a dog.”
On being asked about the arrests made in the hate speech case, the priest was quoted by Nelli as having said, “When Jitendra Singh Tyagi went by the name Wasim Rizvi and wrote his book, not a single policeman, not one of these ‘hijde’ policeman or politician, had the courage to arrest him.”
Seeking permission for contempt proceedings, the activist contended the remarks were “a vile and clear attempt at interfering in the course of justice by means of abusive rhetoric and baseless attacks on the integrity of the Constitution and the courts” and that “any such attempt to harm the majesty of the institution and diminish the faith that citizens of India have in the court can result in complete chaos and anarchy”.
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