Supreme Court withdraws contempt proceedings against Lalit Modi after unconditional apology
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday withdrew the contempt proceedings against Lalit Modi after he tendered an unconditional apology for his remarks against the judiciary in social media posts, media reported.
Taking note of an affidavit submitted by Lalit Modi stating that in future he wouldn’t do anything which is inconsistent with the "majesty or dignity of Courts or Indian judiciary" in any manner, a bench comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said the court accepted the apology.
The bench warned him to be cautious as any act on his part that remotely tarnished the image of the Indian judiciary and courts will be seen very seriously.
They stated that the court’s concern behind the contempt proceeding against Modi was to ensure everybody respected the institution as a whole.
The apex court had strongly criticised Modi's comments against the judiciary on April 13 and ordered him to publicly apologise without any conditions on both social media platforms and national newspapers.
The court had warned that Modi's conduct would be dealt with strictly if he repeated such behaviour, emphasising that he is not above the law or the institution.
The apex court had also instructed Modi to submit an affidavit expressing regret and confirming that he will refrain from making any such statements in the future that could be construed as damaging the reputation of the Indian judiciary.