Madras HC closes contempt proceedings against H Raja following unconditional apology

The Madras High Court today closed the contempt proceedings it had initiated against BJP National Secretary H Raja for derogatory remarks made by him against the judiciary during a Vinayaka Chaturthi procession last month..An unconditional apology rendered by Raja today for his intemperate remarks prompted the Bench of Justices CT Selvam and Nirmal Kumar to close the matter..In an affidavit filed before the Court, H Raja submitted that his remarks were emotional and accidental, and that he had only realised that they were wrong after he later viewed video footage of the exchange..Prior to taking up the case, a mention was made of a separate contempt petition filed against H Raja in which the Advocate General had issued notice. The petitioner was aggrieved by the issuance of notice. He contended that once there is a prima facie case of contempt made out, the AG should refer the matter to the Court. In such cases, the AG cannot issue notice, which he contended would amount to conducting an inquiry..In response, the Court today observed that there is no need to file endless contempt petitions against the same person in respect of the same event. Justice Selvam observed that the contempt petition would be tagged with the matter before them if they were to proceed with the case against Raja..However, he proceeded to observe that if Raja were to render an unconditional apology, stating that he meant no disrespect for the judicial institution by his remarks, the case would be closed. Justice Selvam made a remark to the effect that it is the majesty of the judicial institution which assumes priority, while emphasising that the Court does not otherwise hold a grouse against anyone..Following the unconditional apology tendered by Raja, the Court closed the case before it, orally observing that, “everybody makes mistakes…”.H Raja’s contemptuous outburst had been triggered after the police attempted to stop him from carrying out a Ganesh Chaturthi procession along a particular route to guard against possible communal clashes in Pudukkottai last month..In a video that promptly went viral, Raja is reported to have used strong language against the Madras High Court, while also lashing out at the police as being the “most corrupt” and “anti-Hindu”..His remarks raked up a storm, with advocates as well as politicians of both the AIADMK and the DMK calling for strong legal action against him. The police had also registered a case against Raja, invoking various IPC provisions including those related to unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation, disobeying a public servant, and public nuisance..Read Affidavit filed by H Raja below: