The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to ‘Dharam Sansad’ leader Yati Narsinghanand on a petition by activist Shachi Nelli seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against him for his utterances attempting to lower the authority of the top court and the constitution.
A bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice M M Sundresh issued the notice.
The contempt petition is rooted in an interview in which Yati Narsinghanand had said, “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.”
The interview went viral on social media platform twitter.
In January 2022, the then Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent to Nelli to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Narsinghanand over his remarks.
The attorney general had said that the statement made by Narsinghanand is 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 Narsinganand… is a direct attempt to lower the authority of the Supreme Court in the minds of the general public. This would certainly amount to contempt of the Supreme Court of India,” the Attorney General Venugopal had said in the letter giving his consent for the initiation of contempt proceedings.
The consent for the initiation of proceedings for criminal contempt of the top court was given in terms of Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 read with Rule 3(a) of the Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of the Supreme Court of India, 1975.
Shachi Nelli in his January 14, 2022, letter to the Attorney General has sought his consent for initiating contempt proceedings against Yati Narsinghanand for his “derogatory remarks against the Supreme Court and the constitution of India.
Nelli had said that the comments made by Narsinghanand were an attempt to undermine the majesty of the institution and the authority vested in the Supreme Court, and is 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.
“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. This is perhaps the most vicious attack on the Supreme Court in its history. To permit these remarks to pass unaddressed will be to allow this attempt of lowering the authority of the apex court to succeed, if not wholly then in considerable measure,’ Nelli had said.
The letter said, “The Supreme Court of India is the first interpreter and the guardian of the Constitution of India. It is appalling to see the lack of faith and sheer contempt being expressed towards the fundamental frameworks of this country. The intent to undermine the Court and its capacity to dispense justice is evident.”
Narsinghanand had been making headlines because of his hate speeches targeting Muslims.