SC issues show-cause notices to Kunal Kamra, Rachita Taneja in contempt cases

New Delhi, December 19: Supreme Court on a Friday issued notices to stand up comedian Kunal Kamra and cartoonist Rachita Taneja on pleas seeking contempt of court proceedings against them for their tweets critiquing the top court.

 

The bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy, and MR Shah asked them to file their responses within six weeks, adding that they do not need to appear in person before the court. The top court says they don't need to appear in person before the court.

 

The top court had reserved its order on Thursday on a batch of pleas seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Kamra and Taneja.

 

 

 

Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the tweets were in "bad taste" and it was the time that people understand that attacking the apex court brazenly would attract punishment under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1972.

 

. The Supreme Court had earlier decided to take up three contempt petitions against Kunal Kamra for a hearing on the 17th of December. However, the court announced that is going to pass its order on Friday.

 

Kunal Kamra had tweeted criticising the Supreme Court for granting interim bail to Arnab Goswami. Kamra has, however, refused to apologise for his tweets criticising the Supreme Court, commenting in a statement that "silence of the Supreme Court on matters of other's liberty cannot go uncriticised." Kamra had tweeted that 'Supreme Court of this country is the supreme joke of this country. In yet another tweet he had painted the Supreme Court in saffron color to allege that it had become a puppet of the NDA Government.

 

Similarly, the attorney general had given consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Taneja, stating that the posts were intended to denigrate the Supreme Court and lower its authority in the eyes of the public.