SC issues show-cause notice to Maharashtra Assembly Secy for "threatening" Arnab Goswami

The Supreme Court on Friday asked Maharasthra Assembly's Assistant Secretary to show cause why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for his letter to Republic TV's Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami questioning his petition in the top court.

The top court protected Goswami from arrest in the case related to privilege notice and summoned the Secretary personally before it.

Taking up Goswami's plea against privilege notice to criticising Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, a bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde expressed anguish at the conduct of Vilas Athwale, Assistant Secretary of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The court said, "it amounts to serious and direct interference into administration of justice".

Athwale has shot off a letter to Goswami on October 13, questioning him how he produced the missives sent to him by the Speaker and Privilege Committee since they were confidential in nature.

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"No authority in the country can penalise someone for approaching this court. This is in teeth of Article 32 of the Constitution. How dare this officer wrote something like this in his letter," the bench asked senior advocate A M Singhvi, who appeared for the Maharasthra government.

"How can someone be threatened like this? How can someone be stopped from approaching a court by extending him threats like this? We don't appreciate such conduct," the bench said.

Singhvi expressed inability to justify the contents of letter as he appeared for the state government.

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The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, noted though Assistant Secretary of the Assembly has been served with a notice on October 5, he hasn't entered appearance so far in the court but rather issued thr letter on October 13 to the petitioner.

The court appointed senior advocate Arvind Datar as amicus curiae, before posting the matter for consideration on November 23. It also issued notice to the Attorney General.

The court said the letter by the Assistant Secretary of the Assembly was "unprecedented and has a tendency to bring the administration of justice to disrepute."

"The Assistant Secretary must know that right to approach this court under Article 32 is itself a fundamental right. There is no doubt that if a citizen is deterred from exercising his right under Article 32, it will amount to serious interference with the administration of justice," the court said.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Goswami, asked the court to protect him from any coercive action in the case.

"He is in jail. He is being threatened and questioned. Case after case after case is being filed against this man. At times, constitutional courts have to see the reality and not just the smokescreen," he said.

Goswami has been arrested on November 4 in a 2018 abetment to suicide case.