The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut to physically appear before it on November 17 in a criminal contempt case over his public statements targeting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and the higher judiciary, Bar and Bench reported. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi also directed journalist Nikhil Wagle to remain present virtually on the next date of hearing, after taking his unconditional apology on record.

Source: Bar and Bench

"Having regard to the magnitude of the issue involved we are of the view that R1 [Wagle] shall appear virtually on the next date of hearing... We direct R2 [Raut] to be present physically before this court on the next date of hearing," the bench ordered, according to Bar and Bench. LiveLaw reported that both have to appear at 2 PM on November 17.

Source: LiveLaw

Appearing for Wagle, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising submitted that he had tendered an unconditional and sincere apology for his post on X, deeply regretted it, did not intend to justify it, and had deleted the post on receiving the notice, LiveLaw reported. She said Wagle has an unblemished career spanning over five decades. The Bar Association's counsel, however, contended that the post was deleted after a delay of five days.

The contempt petition was initiated by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) after consent was granted by Attorney General R Venkataramani under Section 15(1)(b) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, who opined that the respondents' comments were scandalous, both outlets reported.

The matter had earlier come up on October 16 before a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, which issued show-cause notices to Wagle and Raut while remarking that attacks on the institution were deeply unfortunate, especially by those who turn to courts for relief. Their personal appearance was exempted at that stage.

PTI also reported both directions on Wednesday — that Wagle was asked to appear virtually on November 17 and Raut was directed to physically appear in court that day in the contempt matter over remarks concerning the CJI and the judiciary.