SC issues contempt notices to Rachita Taneja and Kunal Kamra

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The top court has decided to proceed with contempt proceedings against comic illustrator Rachita Taneja and comedian Kunal Kamra for their tweets against the Supreme Court and the judiciary, reported Bar & Bench.

The 3-judge Bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah decided on several petitions filed against the two over their tweets but allowed them to not appear physically. They are also supposed to respond to the notice within six weeks.

Yesterday, on December 17, the court had reserved its verdict on whether or not to issue them notices. Taneja who runs the page Sanitary Panels, a social media webcomic taking a distinct feminist angle has been accused of “threatening the very existence of the Supreme Court of India”. In one of her impugned tweets, she referred to the top court as the “Sanghi Court of India”.

In Kunal Kamra’s matter, the Attorney General of India granted consent to proceed against his tweets that called the Supreme court, a supreme joke of India. His tweet, “DY Chandrachud is a flight attendant serving champagne to first class passengers after they’re fast tracked through, while commoners don’t know if they’ll ever be boarded or seated, let alone served”, has come under strict scrutiny too.

Ironically, Justice D.Y Chandrachud, while hearing the petition filed by Arnab Goswami challenging the Bombay High Court which denied him interim bail, had expressed his displeasure at the way high courts were exercising their jurisdiction in upholding personal liberty.

“People are in jail for tweets!”, he had remarked. Both Taneja and Kamra had criticised the top court for the manner in which it had fast-tracked Arnab Goswami’s bail plea in an abetment to suicide case with prominent human rights activists still waiting for their matter to get listed.

The matter is now expected to be heard after six weeks, tentatively.