From “Regret” To “Unconditional Apology”: Supreme Court To Take Up Rahul’s Revised Rafale Remark Affidavit On Friday

The Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday tendered an “unconditional apology” to the Supreme Court for “unintentionally” linking the apex court in the Rafale review plea to his party’s political slogan “chowkidar chor hai” aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi filed the three-page affidavit rendering the “unconditional apology” in the Supreme Court, agencies reported.

“The Deponent unconditionally apologises for the wrongful attributions to this Hon’ble Court. The Deponent further states that any such attributions were entirely unintentional, non-willful and inadvertent,” stated Gandhi’s new affidavit. It added that Gandhi holds the Supreme Court in the highest esteem and respect and that he has never sought or intended to, directly or indirectly, commit any act that interferes with the process of administration of justice.

He also requested the top court to close the contempt proceedings against him based on a petition filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Meenakshi Lekhi. The Supreme Court  will hear the matter on Friday.

This is the third letter that Rahul is submitting to the SC on the ,matter. Earlier, in his letter he had expressed “regret” to which the BJP had objected saying it is nowhere near an unqualified apology. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was representing Rahul , said it was a mistake that the affidavit did not contain the word “apology” and a fresh one would be filed.

“I have checked the dictionary, regret means apology. (But) I will say apology,” Singhvi told the court last week. When the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said, “We have great difficulty in understanding what your client says”, Singhvi assured the court that he would “make a correction” and file a “better affidavit”  soon.

–India Legal Bureau

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