The Supreme Court on Sunday issued contempt notices to DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Union Surface Transport Minister T R Baalu and others for defying judicial orders against a state-wide bundh on October 1 on Sethusamudram controversy.

A Bench of Justices B N Agarwal and P P Naolekar issued notices on a petition by Opposition AIADMK. The court found prima facie evidence of certain actions of Karunanidhi, Baalu, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister K N Nehru, Chief Secretary L K Tripathi, police chief P Rajendran and Transport Secretary Debendranath Sarangi amounting to a contempt of court in disobeying the court’s September 30 order against the shutdown. The bench, however, exempted Mr Karunanidhi and others from personally appearing before it and asked them to file their replies within four weeks.

The counsel also told the Court that the Union Transport Minister had allegedly made several inflammatory and contemptuous remarks against the apex Court for prohibiting the bundh.

MK: I will abide
Mr Karunanidhi said on Monday that he would respond to the contempt of court notice. He said: “I  always abide by court orders and I will also respond to the notice.” 

 The AIADMK had filed the contempt petition in the first week of October, seeking action against the ruling DMK for “not complying” to a Supreme Court order which had restrained it from going ahead with the bundh.

Though the apex court sat on September 30, a Sunday, and passed the order shortly after noon, Mr Karunanidhi had claimed that the written order reached the Chief Secretary only late in the night and by then trade unions had already got into bundh mode.