A sigh of relief for Swara Bhasker as AG K K Venugopal refuses consent to take contempt action against the actress.

The actress had faced backlash for making alleged “derogatory” remarks against the SC over its verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid.

The Attorney General of India has declined authorization to an advocate for filing a content plea against Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker for remarks on the Supreme Court’s decision in the Babri Masjid and Ayodhya land debate case; the petitioner had depicted the remarks as “derogatory”, “scandalous” and an “attack on the institution”. 

Attorney says the comment was “perception of the speaker”:

The Attorney General’s nod is essential before filing a contempt petition in the Supreme Court. Attorney General KK Venugopal was of the opinion that the comment was the perception of the speaker and did not reflect anything upon the Supreme Court itself or suggest anything that can be called scandalous or tend to scandalize the authority of the SC. He said that in his opinion, the statement made by the actress does not constitute criminal contempt. The comment made by Bhasker which also got mentioned in the Attorney’s letter said, “we are ruled by a government that doesn’t believe in our Constitution… we are ruled by police forces that do not believe in the Constitution… it seems we are now in a situation where our courts are not sure whether they believe in the Constitution…”

Lawyer Anuj Saxena had looked for the consent of the AG:

The approval of either the Attorney General or the Solicitor General is vital, under section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, for starting contempt procedures against an individual. Lawyer Anuj Saxena had looked for the consent of the Attorney General for starting contempt activity against the actress. In a 2-page letter on August 21, Venugopal told Saxena that the actress’ statement in the first paragraph out of the two paragraphs appears a factual one and is a view of the speaker. He said in the statement that he doesn’t think this is the case where the offense of outraging the court or bringing down the authority of the court would emerge. Therefore, he declined the consent for initiating contempt proceedings against Swara Bhaskar.

Swara Bhasker has always made headlines for her strong views and opinions concerning many important issues of the country and otherwise.