CJI Chandrachud recuses from hearing contempt plea against Kunal Kamra
New Delhi, Jan 5: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday recused himself from hearing a batch of pleas seeking contempt action against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary.
A bench headed by the CJI took up the petitions and said, "We will place this matter before a bench to which I (CJI) am not a part of because the comments (tweets) were made on the order, which I have passed."
The bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha then listed the matter after two weeks and the CJI, in his administrative capacity will now assign the case to another bench.
Kamra had started publishing the tweets on November 11, 2020, when the top court was hearing an appeal of Arnab Goswami against the Bombay High Court's order rejecting the journalist's plea for interim bail in a 2018 abetment-to-suicide case.
The order granting interim bail to Goswami was passed by a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud.
On January 29, 2021, Kamra in his affidavit had defended his tweets against judiciary, saying India would be reduced to a "country of incarcerated artists and flourishing lapdogs" if powerful people and institutions show inability to "tolerate rebuke or criticism".
Kamra, facing contempt proceedings, also said there was a growing culture of intolerance where taking offence is seen as a fundamental right and has been elevated to the status of a "much loved national indoor sport".
"We are witnessing an assault on the freedom of speech and expression, with comedians like Munawar Farooqi being jailed for jokes that they have not made, and school students being interrogated for sedition. At such a time, I hope that this court will demonstrate that the freedom of speech and expression is of cardinal constitutional value, and recognise that the possibility of being offended is a necessary incident to the exercise of this right," Kamra said.
He had said "irreverence and hyperbole" are essential tools for the comedic enterprise and a comic raises questions on issues of public interest in his own unique way.
"We would be reduced to a country of incarcerated artists and flourishing lapdogs" if powerful people and institutions continue to show an inability to tolerate rebuke or criticism, he had said.
On December 18, 2020, the top court issued show-cause notice to Kamra for his tweets against the apex court and exempted him from personal appearances.
Then Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the comedian's tweets were in "bad taste" and it was time that people understood that attacking the apex court brazenly would attract punishment.
The consent of either the attorney general or the solicitor general is necessary under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act for initiating contempt proceedings against a person.
Criminal contempt of the Supreme Court is punishable with a fine of up to Rs 2,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.
Four petitions seeking contempt action against Kamra were filed including one by law student Shrirang Katneshwarkar and others.
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Instagram removes BJP’s post claiming Cong ‘will snatch wealth of non-muslims’ following backlash
New Delhi: An animated video post shared on BJP’s official Instagram handle, asserting that the Congress party would snatch wealth from non-Muslims to ‘distribute it to its favorite community of invaders,’ has sparked significant backlash. Following the uproar, the photo sharing platform has taken down the post, reports Newslaundry.com.
Meanwhile, it is uncertain whether the post was removed by the BJP or by Instagram following mass reporting by several users as “misinformation” and “hate speech”. The video depicted Rahul Gandhi holding the Congress manifesto which transforms into the logo of the Muslim league. Furthermore, it sought support for PM Modi from every ‘Bharatiya,’ who is also shown wearing a saffron turban.
According to the report, it also contained a clip of PM Modi alleging that the former PM Manmohan Singh had said, “Muslims have the first claim on our resources,” insinuating that if the Congress were to assume power, it would confiscate the money and assets of non-Muslims, redistributing them to Muslims, whom it favored. Labeling Muslims as ‘infiltrators’, the video depicted historical invaders as looters who plundered India's resources and suggested that the Congress party continues to empower individuals from the same community.
The video then communicated that the Congress party’s manifesto is “nothing but Muslim league’s ideology in disguise. If you are a non-Muslim, Congress will snatch your wealth and distribute it to Muslims.” It also slinged the BJP’s official slogan ‘abki baar, 400 paar,’ and called that it was the need of the hour, since Modi only has the “strength to stop the Congress party’s evil plans.”
Similar claims have also been made by several BJP leaders. Recently, Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that the Congress intends to “Give your children's property to Muslims.”
