Tripura CM goes scot-free

Tripura High Court has rejected a plea by lawyers to move contempt proceedings against State Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for his alleged remarks at a meeting with Civil Service Officials that they need not fear contempt of court.

Deb, after the statements attributed to him appeared in the media, posted a statement on his Facebook account that his speech was twisted and wrongly reported by some print and electronic media to project disregard to the judiciary and judicial institutions.

"I firmly and unequivocally clarify that I hold all the judicial institutions in highest esteem and also am duty bound to uphold the majesty of the judiciary. I have not told the officers or even remotely intended to convey any message to disregard courts or disrespect court orders as reported. My words have been published out of context,” the Deb said.

State Advocate General Siddhartha Shankar Dey submitted a similar statement before Chief Justice Akil Kumar Kureshi.

The matter came up before a Bench of Chief Justice Dey and Justice Satya Gopal Chattopadhyay on Monday, after Senior Advocate Purusottam Roy Barman demanded a probe into the Chief Minister’s purported statement. This was, however, rejected by the Chief Justice.

Advocate general Dey before the chief justice's decision almost submitted the similar statement before the bench and told the court that the chief minister was misinterpreted, Screenshots of the chief minister's statement in social media were also produced in the court.