Solicitor general Tushar Mehta on 26th August refused permission to one Usha Shetty to file a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking initiation of contempt of court proceedings against Swara Bhaskar for her alleged defamatory comments against the apex court on the Ayodhya land dispute verdict. The SG took exception to Usha Shetty’s attempt to seek his consent after attorney general K.K. Venugopal had declined it.
Under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, consent of the AG or the SG is needed to initiate contempt proceedings against anyone. The AG had declined consent as, according to him, there was no attack on the Supreme Court. He felt, Swara’s comment was mere innuendo and, therefore, initiating contempt proceedings would mean giving more credence to her statement.