Attorney General's No To Contempt Plea Against Actor Swara Bhasker

Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused give his consent to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against actor Swara Bhasker for her alleged “derogatory and scandalous” comments against the Supreme Court over the Ayodhya verdict.

Under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, consent of the AG or the solicitor general is needed to initiate contempt proceedings against anyone. Venugopal told TOI: "I declined consent as there is no attack on the Supreme Court. It is mere innuendo. Initiating contempt proceedings would mean giving more credence to her statement, which is not needed."

"In my opinion, this statement does not constitute criminal contempt," the Attorney General said.

Lawyer Anuj Saxena, on behalf of petitioner Usha Shetty, had sought consent of the Attorney General for initiating contempt action against the actor.

Venugopal, in a two-page letter to Saxena on August 21, said the actor's "statement in the first part appears to be a factual one, and is a perception of the speaker".

The plea has alleged that Bhaskar made the statements at a panel discussion on February 1, 2020 organised by 'Mumbai Collective'.

The statement, was written out in the Attorney General's letter: "We are living in a country where the Supreme Court states that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was unlawful and, in the same judgment, rewards the same people who brought down the mosque".