Hyderabad: Trinamool Congress (TMC) member and Right to Information (RTI) activist Saket Gokhale on Monday moved an application before the Attorney General for India, seeking permission for contempt of court action against Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
The plea alleged that the Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on September 25 made insulting remarks regarding the state of India’s judiciary at the biennial conference of the Tripura Civil Service Officers Association in Agartala.
According to Gokhale, Biplab Kumar Deb remarked, “It is not so easy to take someone to jail on contempt charges. Police can take someone to jail but remember, police are under the chief minister. The court will direct police, police will say we are looking for him and so on. The Court may give the order but who will comply with order is police & police is under me. So, don’t be afraid of courts.”
“I am a tiger, not a court. We make laws and the court just implements them,” Deb had reportedly said at the event, stated Gokhale in his letter to the AG.
Saket Gokhale, in his letter also alleged that the “contemptuous comments” reportedly made by the Tripura chief minister was done with full knowledge of the fact they tend to scandalize and lower the reputation of the judiciary in the minds of public servants and also the common people in general.”
The letter requesting sanction for prosecution was sent to AG Siddhartha Shankar Dey’s office on Monday morning. Saket Gokhale also took to social media and published the letter on his Twitter account.
“Have sought consent from AG for State of Tripura to initiate criminal contempt of court proceedings against Tripura CM @BjpBiplab for the extremely scandalous & insulting remarks made by him against the judiciary on Saturday.If AG refuses consent, Tripura HC will be approached,”said the activist in his tweet.