New Delhi, October 31
Attorney General Milon Banerjee has rejected a plea for filing of a contempt petition against former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah for his recent interview to a TV channel, in which he said if Parliament attack case convict Mohd Afzal Guru was hanged, some ultras might murder the judges convicting him.

The consent of the AG, mandatory for filing a contempt petition, was sought by one Rjesh Kumar Gogna, who wanted to move the Court against Abdullah, claiming that he had brought disrepute to the judiciary with his comment. He said his statement was an attempt to interfere with the judicial process of the country.

Mr Banerjee refused to give his consent, saying, “In my opinion no case of criminal contempt is made out within the meaning of Section 2 ( c) of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971.”

He said the former Chief Minister had only criticised the judgement and not the judge as such and no motive was imputed against him. Neither was his comments malicious. The interview was not intended to shake faith in the judiciary, neither did it scandalise it, the Attorney General said.

Abdullah in his interview to a TV channel had warned that if Afzal was hanged “some crook will come and murder the judges”

He had also said Afzal’s hanging would have an adverse affect on the peace process with Pakistan.