AG's consent not required to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings: SC

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishan Murari will hear arguments on August 20 on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Bhushan for its contempt

There is no requirement for the Supreme Court to take Attorney General's consent in initiating a criminal contempt proceeding on its own as it exercises inherent power under the Constitution in issuing the show cause notice, the top court said Friday.

It made this observation while rejecting activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan's plea that he was proceeded against without the consent of the country's top law officer.

The top court held Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt and observed that his first tweet about the Chief Justice of India S A Bobde riding a motorbike was false, malicious and scandalous, and his second tweet