Nupur Sharma case: Attorney General says no to contempt against ex-judge

NEW DELHI: Attorney General K K Venugopal has not given consent to initiate contempt proceedings against former Delhi High Court judge SN Dhingra and two others for criticising the Supreme Court over its observations against suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma.

Advocate C R Jaya Sukin had sought Venugopal’s consent to initiate criminal contempt of court against Dhingra, former additional solicitor general (ASG) Aman Lekhi and senior advocate K Rama Kumar for calling the top court’s observations in Nupur Sharma’s case “irresponsible, illegal and unfair”.
Venugopal said the statements made by the three people were neither “vituperative nor abusive” nor were they likely to interfere with the administration of justice by the SC.

“I’ve gone through your request seeking consent to initiate proceedings for criminal contempt against Justice (retd) S N Dhingra, Lekhi and Rama Kumar…The statements are not vituperative or abusive nor are they likely to interfere with the administration of justice...the SC, in several judgements, has held that fair and reasonable criticism of judicial proceedings would not constitute contempt of court,” he said.