Days after a Supreme Court contempt show-cause notice, Sanjay Raut’s Albania post has set off a political row: BJP leaders say it threatens the Court, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP says he trusts the Indian judiciary and was only issuing a warning.
New Delhi: A post on X about anti-government protests in Albania has brought Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut criticism from BJP leaders. In it, he claimed that protesters had burned down that country’s Supreme Court and said all countries, “especially India”, should learn a lesson. Raut has since said he has faith in India’s Supreme Court and that his remarks were meant as a warning.
The post and the protests behind it
Written in Marathi and put out on October 19, the post said people in Albania had set fire to the Supreme Court, claiming they were angry that the court was shielding a prime minister facing corruption allegations. Protesters, it added, had also attacked parliament, government offices and ministers’ residences. “All countries should learn a lesson from these events. Especially India,” he wrote.
Student-led anti-government protests turned violent in Tirana, Albania’s capital, in mid-October, and demonstrators were reported to have set fire to government buildings, parts of parliament included. LawChakra could not independently confirm Raut’s claim that the Supreme Court building itself was burned.
A contempt case already under way
The post arrives while contempt proceedings against him are pending. On October 16, a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued a show-cause notice to Raut and journalist Nikhil Wagle on a criminal contempt petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association with the Attorney General’s consent, over their earlier remarks about the Chief Justice. Personal appearance was exempted. A day earlier, the Court had entertained Raut’s challenge in the INDIA bloc SIR petition only provisionally, asking him to explain his remarks against the judiciary.
What BJP leaders said
Syed Shahnawaz Hussain of the BJP asked, “Is he trying to threaten the Supreme Court?”, and said Uddhav Thackeray “should apologise to the Supreme Court for the kind of statement Sanjay Raut has made.” Guru Prakash Paswan of the BJP said, “They are trying to create an atmosphere of anarchy.” Former MP Kirit Somaiya said, “The people of India will not tolerate anarchy,” and added that a contempt petition against Raut was already pending in the Supreme Court. BJP spokesperson CR Kesavan called the language “indefensible”.
Congress leader Udit Raj took Raut’s side, linking the controversy to bail decisions and saying, “There should be a speaking order.”
Raut: a warning, not a threat
Answering the criticism, Raut said he has “faith in India’s Supreme Court”. His remarks, he said, were a warning about growing disorder if the present government stayed in power. He urged the Court to take note of the situation and said it could save the nation.
The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, treats publications that scandalise or lower the authority of a court as criminal contempt, while fair criticism of judicial functioning is protected. A show-cause notice is not a finding of contempt. Raut is entitled to be heard, and no court has ruled on whether his remarks, whether the earlier ones or the Albania post, amount to contempt. The accusations made against him by BJP leaders are political allegations.