Contempt plea filed in NGT against Sri Sri over his remarks

A contempt plea was on Wednesday moved in the National Green Tribunal against spiritual figure Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for holding the Centre and the green panel responsible for the damage caused to Yamuna by allowing his NGO to hold a mega cultural extravaganza.

The plea filed by Yamuna activist Manoj Misra has sought action against Ravi Shankar and said the statement made by the Art of Living (AOL) founder interfered with free and fair dispensation of justice. The matter is listed for hearing on Thursday before a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar. Delhi Development Authority counsel Kush Sharma said that they have received a copy of the petition and would address the tribunal on the issue.

In the statement published on AOL's website, Ravi Shankar had blamed the government and the NGT for permitting AOL and said his foundation had obtained all necessary permissions, including from the green panel, and the event could have been stopped in the beginning itself if the river was so "fragile and pure".

In the plea filed through advocates Ritwick Dutta and Rahul Choudhary, Misra said the AOL head was "in the habit" of making statements to "denigrate the dignity and status of this tribunal, which was an interference in fair dispensation of justice", that is the bedrock of the rule of law. "When the above matter came up for hearing on April 20, after pointing out that the experts have submitted their report on damages, restoration and its quantification, the counsel for the applicant brought the above statement to the attention of this tribunal.