He has expressed regret: AG KK Venugopal declines consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Prashant Bhushan for recent tweet

Attorney General KK Venugopal refused to grant consent for the initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Advocate Prashant Bhushan for his recent tweet over CJI Bobde's visit to Madhya Pradesh statitng that Bhushan has "expressed regret.".Advocate Sunil Singh had sought consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Advocate Prashant Bhushan for the tweet connecting "the personal life of CJI SA Bobde with a pending case before him.".The AG in his letter stated that the tweet was published in several newspapers and that the tweet "scandalises the Supreme Court, prejudices and interferes with the due course of judicial proceedings and administration of justice.".The letter further read:."In common law jurisdictions, perhaps the most significant role of contempt of court law is the application of the sub judice rule: no one should interfere with legal proceedings which are pending. In practice, this rule is usually used to prohibit publication of matters which are likely to prejudice the right of a fair trial when legal proceedings are pending, or in a more colloquial sense, to prevent 'trial by media'," the letter read..However, the Attorney General turned down the request for consent to initiate contempt stating that Bhushan has already "expressed regret" for his tweet. .I do not think that it would be in public interest to give consent for proceeding on the basis of the original tweet in view of the subsequent tweet.Attorney General KK Venugopal.The AG maintained that the CJI is the highest constitutional functionary and that as per the Madhya Pradesh State Guest Rules, 2011, the CJI is a State guest and is bound to be accorded facilities in accordance with it. .The AG further stated that the region CJI visited has been a Maoist affected region and that was why he was given the helicopter facility..Following the contentious tweet, Prashant Bhushan had later informed that it was incorrect for him to say that the fate of the State government depended on the case pending before CJI SA Bobde. .It was in August this year that Supreme Court had convicted Bhushan for contempt of court for his tweets about the Supreme Court and CJI SA Bobde..Although Bhushan was let off with a fine of Re 1, a Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra had opined that the court could not ignore the disrespect and disaffection created by the “scurrilous” tweets..[Read AG's letter]