Attorney General of India KK Venugopal on Friday consented to start contempt proceedings against Hindutva supremacist seer Yati Narsinghanand Giri for his remarks about the Supreme Court and the Constitution, Live Law reported.
An attorney general’s consent is required under the Contempt of Courts Act before the Supreme Court can hear a criminal contempt of court petition filed by a citizen.
The approval was granted by Venugopal in response to a letter by activist Sachi Nelli. She had asked for a trial against Narsinghanand for the statements he made during an interview.
Giri had said that he did not trust the Supreme Court. He had also said that the Constitution could consume 100 Hindus and those who believe in it will be killed.
He had made the comments in response to a question on the proceedings in the Haridwar hate speech case.
Venugopal on Friday said that these comments amount to contempt of the Supreme Court, Bar and Bench reported.
He said that Giri’s statement, “those who believe in this system, these politicians, in the Supreme Court, and in the Army will all die the death of a dog”, was an attempt to undermine the court’s importance for the citizens.
Giri is currently in judicial custody in a case pertaining to his derogatory remarks against women and for inciting violence through speeches at a religious conclave in Haridwar.
Giri and several other Hindutva supremacists had called for violence against Muslims at the event that was held between December 17 and December 19. He had called upon Hindus to pick up weapons, asserting that the “economic boycott” of Muslims will not work.
Former chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board Jitendra Tyagi was the first person to be arrested in the case on January 13. Tyagi has recently converted to Hinduism from Islam.
Two first information reports have been filed in the case so far. The first FIR was filed on December 23 and had just included Tyagi’s name. On January 1, the names of Yati Narsinghanand and another seer, Sagar Sindhuraj, were added to the FIR.
On January 2, the second FIR was filed against 10 persons, including Yati Narsinghanand and Sindhuraj.
On Wednesday, a Uttarakhand court denied bail to Narsinghanand after observing that he was constantly making comments to incite “communal passions and spoiling religious harmony/atmosphere through social media”.
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