New Delhi: Ashok Chaitanya, the lawyer who has approached the Delhi High Court with a contempt petition against Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Gopal Rai, and journalist Saurav Das told ThePrint Friday that he is a proud Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker.
In an exclusive chat, the former Indian Air Force sergeant told ThePrint that after Kejriwal and Das posted “objectionable” comments about Delhi High Court Judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on social media, he replied to them saying he will file a contempt plea.
“I had responded to their tweets on X saying that I will file a contempt plea against you. Since that day, many people have abused me on Twitter saying I am an RSS worker. Yes, I am an RSS worker, and I am proud of my work”.
Expressing his willingness to engage with Das, and other respondents on the legal points in question, Chaitanya said, “If they want to counter me on legal points, they are more than welcome, but many are posting my picture and calling me names.”
When asked about his reasons for filing the present plea before the court, Chaitanya said it was in public interest, with an aim to ensure justice.
“The way the court has been consistently attacked, there is a huge motive behind it. They wanted to terrorise the sitting judges. But this could also harm the interests of the general public and prejudice normal people in the long run as it shows that advantageous persons can arm-twist the judiciary into bending to their will,” he said.
Terming the posts made by Kejriwal, Das and others “scandalous” and contemptuous of a sitting judge, the lawyer’s plea claimed the posts were based on misleading assertions relating to professional engagements of the judge’s family members, such as her son and daughter.
Former Delhi CM Kejriwal had alleged in his recusal plea and an additional affidavit before the Delhi High Court that Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s son and daughter were empanelled as Central government counsel.
Chaitanya’s plea says that the empanelment of advocates by government bodies is a routine process based on merit and professional competence.
The attempt to attribute impropriety to such empanelment is wholly baseless and intended to malign the judge’s integrity, the plea says.
The central government’s standing counsel does not report to the Solicitor General of India, it adds.
“Justice Kanta’s children don’t report to SG, neither are they working under his direct supervision,” Chaitanya told ThePrint.
He said he started collecting such contemptuous material and posts a long time back, and had originally initiated contempt against journalists Shyam Meera Singh, Saurav Das, Kejriwal and Gopal Rai.
However, the registry did not allow consent for initiating a case against Singh, saying he had not reposted alleged contemptuous posts by Saurav Das, Chaitanya said.
Advocate Ashok Chaitanya practices in courts across Delhi, including the high court, and occasionally the Supreme Court. He generally deals in criminal defence litigation and has been practicing for the last 21 years. Formerly, he was employed with the Indian Air Force, where he retired as a sergeant, he told ThePrint.
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Ashok’s plea & what court said
The Delhi High Court on Friday sought replies from journalist Saurav Das and Aam Aadmi Party leader Gopal Rai on Chaitanya’s petition, seeking contempt action against them for allegedly posting objectionable content against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on social media.
The two-judge bench of justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja listed the case for further hearing on 4 August this year. The court also directed the Registry to safely preserve or record the social media content which Chaitanya relied on to file the case.
Although his plea also sought contempt action against other AAP leaders including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, the court said they had already been issued notices in the suo motu contempt case initiated by the high court bench of Justice Sharma on 14 May.
Both cases have now been tagged together and will be heard in August.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: A recusal after refusal to recuse: Why Justice Sharma framed contempt charges against Kejriwal & co