A contempt petition has been filed by Earth NGO against BJP leader Kirit Somaiya for allegedly making defamatory statement against it despite a defamation plea pending against him filed by the NGO in which he was released on bail last month.
The contempt plea filed by NGO through its founder Pravin Kalme has sought that Somaiya’s bail be cancelled and he be taken in custody immediately.
The NGO had filed a defamation suit in September against Somaiya for making derogatory statements against Kalme.
On October 5, Somaiya appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate SI Mokashi court after being summoned. The former MP was taken in custody by the court and then released on a bond of Rs. 15,000.
After being released on bail, Somaiya allegedly made further derogatory remarks against Kalme outside the court premises.
“The first thing that the accused did after being granted bail, was the accused stepped out of this great courtroom and walked before a bunch of journalists who were called by the accused himself by issuing a public statement on his twitter page,” reads the contempt plea.
Besides, Somaiya posted on social media that – he is not scared of this case – “thereby adding that law-and-order can be willing disrespected and once bail is granted, the accused can go about committing the same offence again, adds the contempt petition.
Seeking action against Somaiya, the plea reads: “the accused (Somaiya) has made a contemptuous statement with a clear attempt to damage the authority of the court in front of the World’s media and the citizens of the World.”
The contempt petition was filed on October 30 and will come up for hearing in due course of time.
