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Supreme Court asks Rahul Gandhi to explain his comment on Rafale deal verdict

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Supreme Court asks Rahul Gandhi to explain his comment on Rafale deal verdict

The Supreme Court today (Monday, April 15) issued to notice Congress president Rahul Gandhi asking him to explain by April 22 his remarks attributing the phrase ‘chowkidar chor hai’ to the apex court judgment in the Rafale case.

The court will hear the case on April 23.

The order came on a criminal contempt petition filed by BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi against Mr. Gandhi.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, for Lekhi, said Gandhi deliberately misinterpreted the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the Rafale case, dismissing certain preliminary objections raised by the government. Gandhi purposefully gave a coloured interpretation to the judgment in order to personally attack Modi.

Rohatgi said the Congress president was widely quoted on national television and in newspapers.

Lekhi, In her plea, said Gandhi had attributed his personal remarks to the top court and tried to create prejudice.

The top court said it will consider the petition filed by Meenakshi Lekhi seeking contempt action against Gandhi for attributing some observations to the apex court which was not in the Rafale judgement.

“We make it clear that views, observations, findings attributed to this court in the alleged speeches, remarks made by Gandhi to media/public have been incorrectly attributed to this court. We also make it clear that this court had no occasion to make such observation in as much as it was deciding legal admissibility of certain documents which were objected by the Attorney General,” said the SC Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

The Bench said, “Having clarified the matter we deem it appropriate to seek explanation of Gandhi.”

In response to the Supreme Court hearing on Rafale last week, Gandhi had on April 10 claimed that the apex court has made it “clear” that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “committed a theft”.

He had made the statement while interacting with reporters in Amethi after filing his nomination papers where he is contesting against BJP leader and union minister Smriti Irani.

“I am happy and I have been saying so for months that Hindustan’s PM has given the air force money to (industrialist) Anil Ambani, and the SC has accepted it. The SC is going to investigate it,” Gandhi had said.

“I want to thank the SC. It’s a very happy day. The SC has talked about justice. Justice has prevailed,” he had added.

On April 10, a Bench led by Chief Justice Gogoi had declared the court’s unanimous support for freedom of Press in a democracy. The Supreme Court had refused the government’s plea to keep the Rafale jets’ purchase documents a secret and dismissed preliminary objections raised by the government against petitions seeking a review of the December 14, 2018 judgment of the Supreme Court, which upheld the 36 Rafale jets’ deal.

The government had claimed that the reviews were based on secret Rafale documents unauthorisedly removed from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and leaked to the media. Attorney General KK Venugopal, had argued that “stolen” documents came under the protection of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and were not admissible in evidence in a court of law. Claiming privilege, the government had wanted the court to ignore the documents, even if they were found to be germane to the Rafale case, and dismiss the review petitions at a preliminary stage.

The apex court however rubbished the government’s claim of privilege. It said neither OSA nor any other law empowers the government to stop the media from publishing the documents nor the court from examining them. Besides, Chief Justice Gogoi said claiming privilege over the Rafale documents was an “exercise in utter futility”.

Welcoming this move, Gandhi had said, “Bahut khushi ho rahi hai ki jo main mahino se keh raha hun ki Hindustan ke Pradhan Mantri ne Air Force ka paisa chori karke Anil Ambani ji ko diya hai, us baat ko aj SC ne maan liya hai, (I am happy that what I have been saying for months that India’s Prime Minister stole money from the Air Force and gave it to Anil Ambani, Supreme Court has validated that point today).” He also dared the prime minister for an open debate. Soon after, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accused Gandhi of making comments that verge on contempt of court’s order.

Rahul while speaking to the media in Amethi had said, “The Supreme Court has made it clear that ‘chowkidar’ allowed “theft and that it had accepted that some sort of corruption had taken place in the Rafale deal.”

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Delhi LG VK Saxena directs probe into remarks against Kangana Ranaut by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate

The Delhi Police will investigate who was behind the said social media post and whose mobile phone was used for the purpose.

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Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena today sought a detailed probe from Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora in relation with the alleged defamatory social media post made by Congress’s Supriya Shrinate against actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut.

Reportedly, BJP candidate from New Delhi Bansuri Swaraj had given a complaint to the LG seeking probe and registration of an FIR against Shrinate for outraging the modesty of a woman. Subsequently, the Delhi LG has forwarded the complaint to the Delhi Police Commissioner, directing a scientific investigation in the matter and initiation of legal action, if necessary.

Reports said that the Delhi Police will also investigate who was behind the said social media post and whose mobile phone was used for the purpose. A major controversy erupted on Monday after an objectionable post from Supriya Shrinate’s social media handle against Kangana Ranaut, who has been announced as the BJP candidate from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi.

Responding to the remarks, Kangana Ranaut said that they must free the daughters from the shackles of prejudices and must rise above the curiosity about their body parts. She added that people must refrain from using sex workers’ challenging lives or circumstances as some kind of abuse or slur. She concluded that every woman deserves her dignity. As the controversy intensified, the Congress leader asserted that someone else had posted the objectionable content from her handle. 

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Wednesday issued a show cause notice to Congress leader Supriya Shrinate for her derogatory remarks against Kangana Ranaut. The Election Commission observed that the remarks are undignified and in a bad taste. The election body asked the Congress leader to respond to the commission by Friday. In the notice, the Election Commission stated that the statements made by the leader is prima facie violative of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) being in force ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. 

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Bollywood actor Govinda joins Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now.

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Bollywood actor Govinda joined Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. In 2004 Govinda contested from Mumbai North Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket and earned the nickname of a giant slayer as he defeated BJP’s Ram Naik. He resigned from the party and said that he had decided to take a break from politics.

Govinda on his official induction in the party by CM Eknath Shinde said he is joining Shiv Sena and it is a blessing from God. He said he thought he would not enter politics again. Govinda said Mumbai looks cleaner and better now. He said his parents had a good relationship with Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hedge met the Bollywood actor at his residence in Juhu. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde said the actor’s joining the Shiv Sena does not come with a rider. Govinda said whatever work is assigned to him, he will do it to the best of the ability. He said he was a part of the 14th Lok Sabha and has returned to politics after 14 years.

Speaking about his role in politics, the actor said he would transform the film city of Mumbai. He did not reply when he was asked about contesting elections. Govinda said everybody has seen the same level of progress in Maharashtra in the last 2 years, as it has been seen in the country in the last 10 years. He said he is going to focus on the beautification of the state and work towards the growth of art and culture.

Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora welcomed Govida into the party and said he has known the veteran Bollywood actor for almost 25 years. He recalled the 2004 election and said both of them had fought elections together.

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To browbeat, bully others is vintage Congress, says PM Modi after lawyers express concern over attempts to undermine judiciary

Lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

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PM Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party after more than 600 lawyers and some bar associations across the country wrote to the Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, expressing concerns over attempts to undermine the judiciary’s integrity using political and professional pressure.

Taking to social media platform X, PM Modi wrote that to browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture. He recalled that five decades ago, the party itself had called for a committed judiciary, adding that they shamelessly want commitment from others for their selfish interests, but desist from any commitment towards the nation. He concluded that no wonder, 140 crore Indians are rejecting them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments followed after lawyers, including Harish Salve and Bar Council chairperson Manan Kumar Mishra, wrote to CJI DY Chandrachud, alleging that a vested interest group is trying to put pressure on the judiciary and defame courts, particularly in cases of corruption involving politicians.

The lawyers said the tactics used by the vested interest group are damaging the courts and threatening democratic fabric. They stated that Chief Justice Chandrachud’s leadership is crucial in these tough times and the Supreme Court should stand strong, adding it is not the time to maintain dignified silence.

Without naming, the letter also targeted a section of lawyers and alleged they defend politicians by day and then try to influence judges through the media at night. Furthermore, they claimed that some elements are trying to influence who the judges are in their cases and spread lies on social media to put pressure on the judges to decide in a particular way.

In addition, the All Manipur Bar Association had also written to CJI DY Chandrachud highlighting the need to speak out against underhanded attacks on the judiciary on Wednesday. In its letter, the bar association said that it was extremely concerned about recent trends where vested interest groups were trying to defame the courts with frivolous logic and stale political agendas.

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