Unsavoury remarks: SC declines to entertain plea

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by a lawyer and BJP leader alleging that some advocates and politicians were making contemptuous remarks against the top court and judiciary on social media and news channels, undermining its sanctity.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph refused to consider the submission of lawyer Gaurav Bhatia, also a BJP spokesperson, that even senior lawyers and politicians were making contemptuous public statements about the judiciary, and the court should take judicial note of these remarks and lay down some guidelines.

“We are not inclined to entertain this petition to examine the issues raised therein,” the bench said.

“Our reluctance to examine the matter must not be understood, in any way, to be casting any reflection on the importance of the issues, which in our considered view, can be addressed in a different form and manner,” the bench added.

In his petition, Bhatia referred to some tweets of activists and some people attached to political parties, including Congress social media in-charge Divya Spandana, against the judges.

"These unsavoury and uncharitable comments", made on channels and social media, by some persons are contemptuous in nature, Bhatia said.