'Contempt of court': SC irked by Maneka Gandhi's criticism of its order in stray dog case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed displeasure over former Union minister Maneka Gandhi's remarks criticising apex court orders in the stray dog issue, stating that she has committed contempt of court.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria said the former minister has made "all kinds of comments" against everyone without even thinking.
Questioning senior advocate Raju Ramachandran who appeared for Gandhi, the bench said, "You said the court should be circumspect in its remark but have you asked your client what kind of remarks she has made? Have you heard her podcast? She has made all kinds of remarks against everybody without even thinking. Have you seen her body language?"
The bench said it was not initiating contempt proceedings against the former Union minister because of the court's magnanimity.
Justice Mehta asked Ramachandran what budgetary allocation has Maneka Gandhi, as a former Union minister, helped in getting to eradicate the stray dog problem.
Ramachandran replied that he has appeared even on behalf of terrorist Ajmal Kasab and budgetary allocation is a policy matter.
"Ajmal Kasab did not commit contempt of court but your client has," Justice Nath remarked.
The bench said its remark on making dog feeders accountable was not made sarcastically but on a serious note, although during a dialogue while hearing the matter.
The hearing in the case is still underway.
On January 13, the top court had said it will ask states to pay a "heavy compensation" for dog bite incidents and hold dog feeders accountable for such cases.
The court also flagged concerns over the non-implementation of norms on stray animals for the last five years.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
