Indian Judiciary's take on Contempt of Courts: Revisiting the year 2015

"The object of the discipline enforced by the Court in case of contempt of court is not to vindicate the dignity of the Court or the person of the Judge, but to prevent undue interference with the administration of justice." -Bowen, L.J. in Hellmore v. Smith (2) (1886), L. R. 35 C. D. 455. The object of conferring power to punish for its contempt on courts under contempt of courts Act, 1971 is to ensure that rendering justice shall be free from forces outside and nobody shall interfere with the administration of justice but on the other hand in a democratic structure, the people should have the right to criticise judges. The purpose of the contempt power should not be to uphold the majesty and dignity of the court but only to enable it to function.The Indian judiciary in its landmark judicial pronouncement has always tried to establish the balance between Freedom of Speech and Court's power to punish for contempt. In Re: Vinay Chandra Mishra (the alleged contemnor) [AIR 1995 SC 2348], the Hon'ble Supreme Court reiterated the position of law relating to the powers of contempt and opined that the judiciary is not only the guardian of the rule of law and third pillar but in fact the central pillar of a democratic State. If the judiciary is to perform its duties and functions effectively and true to the spirit with which they are sacredly entrusted to it, the dignity and authority of the courts have to be respected and protected at all costs. Otherwise the very corner-stone of our constitutional scheme will give way and with it will disappear the rule of law and the civilized life in the society. It is for this purpose that the courts are entrusted with extraordinary powers of punishing those who indulge in acts, whether inside or outside the courts, which tend to undermine the authority of law and bring it in disrepute and disrespect by scandalizing it. Contempt of Court in a NutshellAny act which hinders or impairs the judicial proceedings and interferes in the administration of justice constitutes Contempt of Court. Such act or conduct is dealt under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971. Section 2(a) defines contempt as both civil and criminal contempt. Civil Contempt, as per Section 2 (b), means willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a court. Criminal Contempt has been defined in Section 2(c) which states that Publication of any matter or any other act which lowers or tends to lower the authority of any court or interferes or tends to interfere in the judicial proceedings or administration of justice.Below is the series of cases that have added to the understanding of contempt of court.1. Allahabad High Court Order 4 months imprisonment for Criminal Contempt to a LawyerThe Hon'ble Allahabad High Court held that the allegations made by Ram Kumar Singh were "contemptuous, wild and reckless". The Court also barred Singh from entering both the district court and the Allahabad High Court (including Lucknow Bench) premises for a period of six months. Ram Kumar Singh, a practicing advocate since 1983, had sent a letter to the Supreme Court as well as the Chief Justice of India, alleging that the current Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court was "pro-government" and "unfit to administer in his present capacity". Read more about the order here.2. Supreme Court stays Contempt Proceeding against Madras High Court Chief Justice, Sanjay KaulThis case revolves around the biasness in selection of civil judges on religious grounds. The Supreme Court stayed a controversial interim order passed by Madras High Court judge Justice C.S. Karnan, allegedly undermining the authority of High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul. Staying Justice Karnan's order of April 30, 2015, passed in suo motu proceedings relating to the appointment of officers of lower judiciary, a Bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu ordered that the judge be restrained from either hearing or issuing any further directions in the case. You may find the stay order of the Supreme court here.3. Allahabad High Court sends 11 lawyers to jail for criminal contempt of courtHolding 11 advocates guilty of unruly behaviour inside the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) in Sonbhadra in 2013, the Allahabad High Court has sentenced them to three months in jail. The HC also slapped a fine of Rs 2,000 on them, failure to pay which would attract another two months imprisonment. A division bench of Allahabad High Court of Justices Sudhir Agarwal and Dinesh Gupta passed the order in a criminal contempt application against advocates Mahendra Prasad Shukla, then Secretary (DBA, Sonbhadra) and others. Read more about Allahabad High Court order here.4. Himachal Pradesh High Court issues contempt notice to the "The Tribune" Newspaper.The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has come down heavily on a newspaper, for indulging in repeated misquoting and misreporting...

Indian Judiciary's take on Contempt of Courts: Revisiting the year 2015

Shobhit Batta & Jinendra Parakh

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