In a relief to Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, the Supreme Court on Thursday spared him off a punitive action in a contempt case but rebuked him for his "misplaced bravado" and being "a rebel without a cause" for breaking lock of a sealed building.
The court also expressed "extreme pain" over Tiwari's action and observed that the "misplaced bravado" and "chest thumping" by him in making frivolous allegations against the court-mandated monitoring committee on sealing was a clear indication of how "low he can stoop" and also displayed his "total lack of respect for any rule of law".
A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur said there was no doubt that Tiwari, also a BJP MP, had on September 16 broken or tampered with the seal put by veterinary services department of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) on a building.
The court was pained by his behaviour as he is an elected representative and "hopefully a responsible citizen of Delhi", the bench said.
"The misplaced bravado of Manoj Tiwari and his chest thumping immediately after the hearing on October 3, 2018 and making serious but frivolous allegations against the monitoring committee appointed by this court is a clear indication of how low Manoj Tiwari can stoop and displays his total lack of respect for any rule of law," the bench said.
"It seems that he (Tiwari) is, in a sense, a rebel without a cause," said the bench, also comprising justices S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta.
The top court also termed as "rather shocking" the response given by Tiwari's counsel that the lawmaker's action was driven by the "mob pressure".
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Immediately after the court verdict, both BJP and the AAP engaged in a war of words with Tiwari claiming that the court had noted his concerns over the "pick and choose" policy in the ongoing sealing drive in the national capital and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal the BJP should end its "stunt and theatrics".
"The pick and choose policy of the Monitoring Committee and the illegal sealing actions, which have been highlighted by us, have been taken note of by the Supreme Court," Tiwari said a statement.
Hitting back, Kejriwal said the BJP should end its "stunt and theatrics" over the sealing issue, and immediately bring an ordinance to maintain status quo and provide relief to lakhs of people.
In its order, the top court termed as "rather shocking" the response of BJP MP's counsel on why he had taken the law into his own hands and broken or tampered with the seal on the premises.
"We were told that Manoj Tiwari is a popular leader of a political party and on seeing him in that area a mob of about 1,500 people had gathered and goaded him to break the seal that had been 'illegally' put on the premises of Prem Singh," the bench said.
"As a result of the pressure exerted upon him by the mob, he broke or tampered with the seal. What shocked us was the rationale given by Manoj Tiwari which suggested to us quite explicitly that instead of pacifying the mob and requiring the mob to act in accordance with law, Manoj Tiwari acted irresponsibly by taking the law into his own hands," it said.
The court observed that consequence of such a behaviour could be "devastating" in a given situation and gave an example that if a mob goads an elected MP to commit a far more serious offence, "would it mean that the elected representative would act on the instructions of the mob and commit the offence?"
The bench said that "shoulders" of court and monitoring committee were broad enough to take criticism in its stride and therefore, it do not intend to proceed against Tiwari for the "reckless statement attributed to him as publicized by the media department of the political party."