SC puts off contempt case against Kunal Kamra for two weeks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday has put off the criminal contempt case initiated against Kunal Kamra over his tweets calling out the alleged moral detriment of the apex court.

A bench led by Justcies Ashok Bhushan allowed the petitioner's request to adjourn the matter, so as to enable him to respond to Kamra's counter affidavit.

'There is no defence needed for jokes', Kamra has said in his reply to the contempt notice by the Supreme Court for his criticism of the top court in tweets last year.

Mr Kamra, who did not offer an apology in his response, said that "jokes are not reality and do not claim to be so".

In his affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court on Friday, the comedian said, "Public's faith in judiciary is founded on its own actions, not on criticism about it."

Eight people, mostly lawyers, had filed cases against Kunal Kamra over his tweets attacking the Supreme Court for granting TV anchor Arnab Goswami bail after his arrest in an abetment to suicide case.

"I disagree with many decisions of many courts but promise this bench that I will respect any decision with a broad smile and will not vilify this bench or the Supreme Court in this matter because that would actually (amount to) contempt of court," he added.

Last month, the Supreme Court had given separate contempt notices to Mr Kamra and cartoonist Rachita Taneja and asked them to respond in six weeks. The court had however, exempted them from personal appearances. The court also sought their explanation asking why contempt actions should not be taken against them for "scandalising the judiciary".

KK Venugopal, the government's top law officer had remarked that Mr Kamra's tweets were "in bad taste" and that they had crossed the line between humour and contempt".

Cartoonist Rachita Taneja tweeted on the Supreme Court granting bail to Arnab Goswami. There were other illustrations as well where the court was mentioned.