Attorney General declines to initiate contempt proceedings against Rahul Gandhi

Lawyer Vineet Jindal had written to the AG to initiate proceedings in the Apex Court against the Congress MP for his remarks in an interview.

Attorney General of India K K Venugopal on Tuesday denied a lawyer's request to sue Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for contempt of court. Lawyer Vineet Jindal had written to the AG to initiate proceedings in the Apex Court against the Congress MP for his remarks in an interview. In such cases, permission needs to be taken before the Supreme Court hears any contempt case filed by a private individual.

"This country has a legal system where one had 100 per cent freedom to express their opinion. It is very clear that the BJP is inserting its people in all these institutions of the country. It is very obvious. They are taking away the institutional framework of this country," Mr Gandhi said in the interview, according to NDTV. Mr Jindal wrote that such comments insulted the judiciary and lowered its dignity.

Mr Venugopal disagreed by saying that Mr Gandhi had made a "general statement" on the judiciary and had not specifically referred to the Supreme Court or judges. Under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the AG can only grant consent for contempt proceedings pertaining to the Supreme Court, Venugopal said, reported LiveLaw. "The question of my granting consent would not arise. In any event, I am of the opinion that the statements in question are too vague to be said to have lowered the authority of the institution in the eyes of the public," the Attorney General said.