AG refuses to reconsider decision declining consent to initiate contempt against Jagan Reddy
New Delhi: Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused to reconsider his November 2 decision declining consent to BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay to initiate contempt proceedings against the Andhra Pradesh chief minister and his principal advisor for making allegations against judges.
The topmost law officer, in his reply to Upadhyay's letter seeking reconsideration of the decision, reiterated his stand saying that the issue of contempt was between Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde and Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy and his principal advisor Ajeya Kallam.
Venugopal on Saturday also said in the response that the lawyer was not precluded from raising this issue on his own before apex court judges or during the hearing of a PIL filed by him only seeking the lifetime ban on convicted lawmakers.
Upadhyay, on November 5, had urged Venugopal to have a relook on the decision and said, "I humbly request you to peruse these points (particularly the fact that the question of contempt is not pending anywhere else) and kindly reconsider the granting of consent to my request.
"This is an issue of great importance at a time when our judiciary continues to be besieged by attacks, and a strong stand needs to be taken by those of us who are a part of the institution," he said.
In the November 7 reply, Venugopal referred to his earlier response and said, "The very crux of the alleged contempt lies in the contents of the letter written by Y S Jaganmohan Reddy to the Chief Justice of India, and thus open to the the Supreme Court to take up the matter of contempt suo motu as provided by the Contempt of Courts Act, and the rules made thereunder."
"Given that the CJI is seized of the matter, it would not be appropriate for me to grant consent and preclude the determination of the Chief Justice of India on the matter. As you are no doubt aware, contempt is a matter between court and contemnor, and no person as of right can insist upon the initiation of contempt proceedings," he said.
Venugopal said his decision does not precluded Upadhyay from bringing these facts to the notice of the judges of the Supreme Court with a prayer for initiation of suo motu action.
"You may exercise this right by way of information placed on the administrative side or by bringing it to the attention of the court during the hearing of ...where you are already a petitioner in person ," Venugopal said in his letter.
Taking the consent of the law officer is a condition precedent for initiating criminal contempt against a person. In an unprecedented move, the chief minister, on October 6, had written to the CJI alleging that the Andhra Pradesh High Court was being used to "destabilise and topple my democratically elected government".
Upadhyay then sought consent of the Attorney General for initiating the contempt against the CM and his advisor.
Venugopal, on November 2, termed as "prima facie contumacious" the conduct of Reddy and Kallam for making allegations against the judiciary, but had declined consent to Upadhyay to initiate contempt against them on the grounds that CJI Bobde was seized of the matter.
The plea for relook has also been declined.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
