oppn parties Contempt Law: Need To Precisely Define The Term 'Scandalizing The Courts'

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October 17, 2026

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  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Contempt Law: Need To Precisely Define The Term 'Scandalizing The Courts'

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-08-17 08:04:49

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The Supreme Court is the final arbiter of all things legal in India. Therefore, it has a huge responsibility in upholding the dignity and sanctity of the judicial process, without which enforcement of the law will not be possible to the fullest extent. But in doing so, the court has to be far more liberal and flexible than it has been, particularly in interpreting the provisions of contempt of court. In the order holding Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt, the court has not considered the right to freedom of expression but has chosen to treat the tweets of the alleged offender as "malicious" and "scandalous" in nature.

The dignity and sanctity of the court, as well as the judicial process, is harmed if, and only if, malicious motives are attributed to orders passed by the honourable courts or individual judges are targeted for having passed any orders likewise. Unfound allegations of serious nature (including but not limited to deceit, corruption, ulterior motives and bias) against the court or individual judges should definitely count as a malicious attempt to lower the dignity of the court or the judges and obstruct the judicial process.

But the court has to be magnanimous in treating criticism and even if it takes cognizance of some such remarks, must be liberal enough to point out the reason for its attention and let off the offender with a warning. The nation will then know where the offender erred and why the court thought it fit to pull her or him up. Repeated and unwarranted attacks by the same offender will obviously invite punishment as per the provisions of the law.

Also, the time has come to clearly define what constitutes contempt, especially what is precisely meant by "scandalizing the courts". Although the Law Commission, in its report in 2018, suggested that the case against doing away with criminal contempt in India was weak and advised against it, there are several grey areas in the law that are in conflict with the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. These need to be addressed properly if criminal contempt stays on the statute books.

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