The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognisance and issued a contempt notice against the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Assistant Secretary, Vilas Athawale for browbeating Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, who came to court to protect his rights.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde asked the Assistant Secretary to show-cause why he should not be punished for contempt for “threatening” Mr. Goswami with a “penalty” just because the journalist had approached the apex court in connection with a privilege motion.
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In an October 13 letter, the Assembly official accused Mr. Goswami of “knowingly” breaching the confidentiality of the privilege proceedings by moving the apex court without taking the permission of the Speaker. Mr. Goswami is accused of breach of privilege for using “sharp language” against the Maharashtra Chief Minister.
“He [Goswami] is in jail... He is being threatened, questioned... Case after case after case is being filed against this man. At times, constitutional courts have to see the reality and not just the smokescreen... He has been warned... They have said he will spend Diwali in jail”, senior advocate Harish Salve, for Mr. Goswami, submitted.
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The court ordered that Mr. Goswami will not be arrested in the privilege case. He is currently in judicial custody in connection with an abetment of suicide case.
Referring to the October 13 letter, the Chief Justice said the Assistant Secretary’s statements were a “serious interference in the administration of justice”.
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“How dare he [Assistant Secretary] do this? Who is this official? How can he threaten a person from coming to this court?”, Chief Justice Bobde lashed out.
He recounted how the late Supreme Court judge, Justice Vivian Bose, several decades ago, took suo motu contempt action against a jail officer, who withheld a letter written by a convict to the Supreme Court.
It’s the right of every citizen to move the apex court to protect his fundamental rights, the CJI said.
Statements ‘unprecedented’
The court said the statements made in the Assistant Secretary's letter were “unprecedented” and had a “tendency to bring the administration of justice into disrepute and, in any case, amount to a direct interference in the administration of justice”.
The Bench, in its order summoning the Assembly Assistant Secretary, said “the intention of the author of the letter seems to be to intimidate the petitioner [Goswami] because he had approached this court”.
The CJI said that though the Assembly was served notice on October 5 in Mr. Goswami’s petition, they chose to respond by issuing the October 13 letter to the journalist rather than entering appearance in court.
The court appointed senior advocate Arvind Datar as amicus curiae in the suo motu contempt proceedings.
