Contempt of Court: SC Issues Notice To Yati Narsinghanand On His Alleged Derogatory Remarks

The Supreme Court on Friday sought a response from Yati Narsinghanand, the priest of Dasna Devi temple in Ghaziabad, in a contempt petition filed against him for his alleged derogatory remarks targeting the top court.

A bench of Justice AS Bopanna and Justice MM Sundresh issued notice to the priest and directed him to submit his reply to the plea filed by activist Shachi Nelli.

Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan informed the bench that they have obtained the consent of former Attorney General KK Venugopal for the contempt petition against Narsinghanand. The court had previously directed the petitioner to provide a transcription of the contents of the video containing the statements made by Narsinghanand. On January 22, 2022, Venugopal granted consent to Nelli’s request to initiate contempt proceedings against the priest.

According to Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, the consent of the Attorney General is required before the Supreme Court can hear a criminal contempt petition filed by a private individual. Nelli’s plea highlighted an alleged contemptuous statement made by Narsinghanand during an interview that went viral on social media on January 14, 2022. The statements were made in relation to the Haridwar hate speech case pending before the top court.

“The statement being so obviously contemptuous of this court, the petitioner, a social activist, wrote to the Attorney General for consent to initiate contempt against the alleged contemnor, who has granted the same”, the plea stated.

It added, “The alleged contemnor has a huge reach and influence and his statement has been spread far and wide by his followers and sympathisers, leading to widespread disaffection for this court, thereby undermining its authority and bringing its majesty into disrepute”.