New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Maharashtra Assembly’s breach of privilege notice to socialite and columnist Shobhaa De on her controversial tweet against the state government’s order on mandatory running of Marathi films in prime time.
The Bench of Justices Deepak Misra and Prafull C Pant also issued notices to the concerned parties, asking them to respond within eight weeks.
The privilege motion was brought against De by Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik in the state Assembly for her “anti-Marathi” tweet, which was deemed as an insult to the Marathi language and the Marathi-speaking people.
Criticising the state government’s decision, De had tweeted, “No more pop corn at multiplexes in Mumbai? Dahi misal and vada pav only. To go better with Marathi movies at prime time.”
Senior advocate C A Sundaram, appearing for her, argued that her comments, which were against the decision of the state government, do not amount to violation of any privileges of the Assembly or its members. She did not violate any of the norms laid down by the Apex Court in various cases on the issue of the breach of privilege of the assemblies.
In a tweet after the privilege notice came up in the assembly, De had said, “Now a privilege motion demanding apology from me? Come on! I am a proud Maharashtrian and love Marathi films. Always have. Always will!”
