Social activist and advocate Aires Rodrigues filed a contempt petition in the Bombay High Court at Goa against State Advocate General Subodh Kantak for making allegedly ‘false, malicious and utterly dishonest statements’ against Justice N A Britto in a Special Leave Petition recently in the Supreme Court, which the AG had later withdrawn.
With Mr Kantak not responding to his legal notice for tendering apology to the High Court Judge and retracting the allegations made in the SLP, Mr Rodrigues filed the petition.
It is for the first time in the country’s history that Contempt of Court proceedings were initiated against an Advocate General for making allegations against a High Court Judge.
He also prayed the court for waiving the provision that required consent of the AG for initiating contempt proceedings as it would be ‘an exercise in futility’. As per section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, a criminal contempt can be initiated by any person only with the written consent of the AG of the State.
‘Making false allegations that cast aspersions on the Court bringing in disrepute amounts to criminal contempt. It was unbecoming of a person holding the very high post of Advocate General of a State to have made such allegations against justice N A Britto,’ he said.
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