The Tripura High Court on Monday refused to proceed further against Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb’s alleged comment on “not to fear contempt of court”.
The High Court Chief Justice Akil Kumar Kureshi and Judge Satya Gopal Chattopadhyay after examining the Chief Minister’s statement submitted before the court by Tripura Advocate General Siddhartha Shankar Dey, dissolved the matter after a group of lawyers demanded action against the Chief Minister for his reported comments on the role of the court.
The lawyers led by senior advocate Purusottam Roy Barman demanded an inquiry on the issue, but the Chief Justice rejected the claim.
The Chief Minister posted a statement in his Facebook account saying that his speech on September 25 was twisted and wrongly reported to some print and electronic media to project disregard to the judiciary and judicial institutions. “I firmly and unequivocally clarify that I hold all the judicial institutions in highest esteem and also am duty bound to uphold the majesty of the judiciary. I have not told the officers or even remotely intended to convey any message to disregard courts or disrespect court orders as reported. My words have been published out of context,” the CM statement said.
Advocate General Dey before the Chief Justice’s decision almost submitted the similar statement before the bench and told the court that the Chief Minister was misinterpreted. Screenshots of the Chief Minister’s statement in social media were also produced in the court.
According to an unauthenticated viral video, the Chief Minister while addressing the 26th biennial conference of the Tripura Civil Service Officers Association on Saturday allegedly said that he would deal with cases of contempt against the officials. Deb allegedly said, according to the viral video, “the Court may give the order but, police are supposed to comply with the court order, but the police are in my control. Officials need not be worried about contempt of court while delivering services.”
The issue has been widely debated in various political and non-political circles after the video was circulated in various social media.
