The Supreme Court has clarified that no contempt proceedings have been initiated against Rajdeep Sardesai. The status as shown on the court website earlier regarding a suo motu case was put there inadvertently and the same is being rectified.
Earlier, the court website showed that a suo motu criminal case had been registered against the senior journalist for his tweets criticising the Supreme Court's judgment imposing a Rs.1/- fine on advocate Prashant Bhushan.
Attorney General KK Venugopal on September 17, 2020 refused his consent to initiate a criminal contempt case against Sardesai.
AG Venugopal, in his opinion, said tweets by Sardesai were "not so serious" that could "undermine the majesty of the court." Trifling remarks and mere passing criticism, though perhaps distasteful, are unlikely to tarnish the image of the Institution, he added.
Astha Khurana, through Advocate-on-Record, Om Prakash Parihar, had approached the AG for his consent to initiate a criminal contempt case against Sardesai.