New Delhi: The Supreme Court has rebuked BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey for his "highly irresponsible" and "absurd" remarks about the top court and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjeev Khanna.
During ongoing hearings on the constitutionality of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, Dubey, a Member of Parliament from Jharkhand’s Godda, stated in an interview that "Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna is responsible for all the civil wars happening in India" and "to provoke the religious war in this country, only and only the Supreme Court is responsible."
"In our opinion, the comments were highly irresponsible and reflect a penchant to attract attention by casting aspersions on the Supreme Court of India and the judges of the Supreme Court," said a bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar in its order, uploaded on the website of the apex court on Thursday.
The CJI Khanna-led bench stressed that any attempt to spread communal hatred or indulge in hate speech must be dealt with an iron hand.
"Hate speech cannot be tolerated as it leads to loss of dignity and self-worth of the targeted group members, contributes to disharmony amongst groups, and erodes tolerance and open-mindedness, which is a must for a multicultural society committed to the idea of equality," it said, adding that any attempt to cause alienation or humiliation of the targeted group is a criminal offence and must be dealt with accordingly.
The Court, in its order, criticised BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks, stating that his assertions scandalise and lower the authority of the court and have the potential to interfere with judicial proceedings and obstruct the administration of justice.
The apex court firmly rejected Dubey’s claim that India is experiencing a civil war, emphasising that judicial decisions are based on legal principles rather than political, religious, or community considerations.
The PIL filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari had said that the entire contents of Dubey’s interview were full of derogatory speech towards the judiciary and the Supreme Court. "Such acts amount to an offence punishable under BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) and also under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971," it stated.
Refusing to entertain the plea seeking contempt action against Dubey, the CJI Khanna-led bench, on Monday, said, "We will pass a short order. We will not be entertaining it, but we will give a short order expressing our views."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had dissociated itself from Nishikant Dubey’s comments against the Supreme Court, clarifying that the statements were "personal opinions" and do not reflect the party’s stance.
In a post on X, BJP chief J.P. Nadda distanced the party from the comments by the MPs. "The BJP has nothing to do with the statements made by BJP MPs Nishikant Dubey and Dinesh Sharma on the judiciary and the Chief Justice of the country. These are their personal statements, but the BJP neither agrees with such statements nor does it ever support such statements. The BJP completely rejects these statements," Nadda had said.
(inputs from IANS)