Misplaced bravado': SC pulls up Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, closes contempt case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday rebuked Delhi BJP chief and Lok Sabha MP Manoj Tiwari for allegedly breaking the seal of premises in New Delhi.

The top court, closing the contempt case against the lawmaker, described Tiwari's action as "misplaced bravado" including his chest thumping.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur slammed Tiwari, saying the court was "extremely pained" due to his conduct as he is an elected representative and should have behaved responsibly. The bench said Tiwari levelled frivolous allegations against the court-mandated committee, which shows how "low he can stoop".

However, Supreme Court left it to BJP to take actions against Manoj Tiwari and said, "There is no doubt that Tiwari has taken law in his hand. We are pained by the machismo and manner of Tiwari. As an elected representative he should have acted responsibly rather taking law in his own hands."

The apex court had on September 19 issued contempt notice against Tiwari, an MP from the north-east Delhi constituency, after taking note of a report filed by the monitoring committee which had alleged that the BJP leader had broken the seal of the premises.

An FIR was lodged against Tiwari by East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) for allegedly breaking the seal of the premises in Gokalpuri area in north-east Delhi on September 16.

The top court had earlier ordered restoration of its 2006 monitoring committee to identify and seal unauthorised structures in Delhi.

(With PTI inputs)