After obtaining consent from Advocate-General R Shanmugasundaram on July 18 this year to file the contempt application, Dhoni preferred the present contempt application on October 11 this year to punish Sampath Kumar for his alleged action of making remarks against the judiciary in violation of the court's interim order passed in 2014.
While closing the contempt proceedings, the bench observed that the matter ought to have come up for hearing earlier.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan made the observation while rejecting the plea of a man who had chopped down 454 trees in the protected Taj Trapezium Zone.
A bench of Chief Justice Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, which had earlier issued notice for initiating contempt action Maharashtra principal secretary Vikas Kharge and eight others, permitted the animal rights activist Sangeeta Dogra to withdraw her plea.
The Supreme Court has directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks. The court also ruled that the contentious issue of OBC reservation in local body polls will be as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report. The court accepted the commission's report, which recommended a census to fix exact data on OBCs and reserve 27 per cent seats for the category in local body polls in Maharashtra. The bench on Tuesday fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls and asked the state panel to conclude it in four months. The outcome of Maharashtra local body elections would be subject to decisions in pending petitions before the apex court.
The consent has been granted in response to a letter by an activist, Shachi Nelli, seeking to initiate contempt against Yati Narsinghanand for his statements in an interview that went viral on Twitter on the January 14.
The Supreme Court of India has reprimanded the central government for failing to implement a cashless treatment scheme for road accident victims. The court expressed its concern over the delay in formulating the scheme, which is designed to provide immediate medical care to accident victims within the crucial "golden hour." The court highlighted that despite a statutory provision requiring the scheme's implementation, the government has not taken any action, prompting the court to intervene. The court also criticized the General Insurance Council (GIC) for raising objections to the scheme and delaying its implementation. The court has now directed the government to notify the scheme within a week and has scheduled a hearing on the matter for May 13.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'five-star activists' remark on the judiciary has evoked sharp reaction with Congress leader Digvijay Singh and lawyer Prashant Bhushan terming it as contempt of court.
Venugopal said today people believe that they can 'boldly and brazenly condemn' the Supreme Court of India and its judges by exercising their freedom of speech, but under the Constitution, the freedom of speech is subject to the law of contempt.
The Supreme Court has ruled that a court cannot exercise the power of contempt in an arbitrary manner as such proceedings should be initiated to ensure its order is complied with and "not to necessarily proceed against persons as if they are petty criminals."
It, however, asked the Delhi police to file its response on action taken in the hate speeches made here within two weeks.
The bench said it has no doubt in its mind that Patanjali had an intention to flout the court order.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of a controversy, this time for his comments about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra has been a controversial figure for years, with his comedy often targeting politicians and other public figures. This latest incident has led to a backlash from Shinde's supporters, who have vandalized the venue of Kamra's show. Kamra has a history of making controversial remarks, including heckling a TV anchor on a flight and making comments about the judiciary.
Pakistan's top election body on Tuesday issued bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Imran Khan and other top leaders of his party in a contempt case.
Two lawyers on Monday wrote separate letters to Attorney General K K Venugopal seeking his consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal for allegedly making statements "scandalising" the verdicts delivered by the Supreme Court.
Some of his directives had the Supreme Court judges disclose their assets whereas the row over the discovery of cash from a sitting judge's official residence paved way for inquiry.
Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, has claimed that BCCI's President-in-exile N Srinivasan committed contempt of court by attending the Asian Cricket Council meeting.
The Supreme Court Thursday reserved verdict on quantum of sentence against fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, in a contempt case where he has been found guilty. A bench comprising Justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha reserved the judgement after hearing senior advocate and amicus curiae Jaideep Gupta on various aspects related to the contempt law. It even permitted the counsel, who was earlier representing Mallya, to file written submissions, if any, in the case by Tuesday.
The principal bench of the (CAT) took suo moto cognisance of the behaviour of advocate Mehmood Pracha, while arguing the case of Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service officer of Uttarakhand cadre on deputation to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, who filed different applications with regard to recording of his Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs), it said.
The PIL has also sought contempt action against Uddhav's wife Rashmi Thackeray, editor of Saamana.
Attorney General K K Venugopal has refused his consent for initiating criminal contempt of court proceedings against Bollywood actor Swara Bhaskar for her alleged 'derogatory and scandalous' statements against the Supreme Court over the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case verdict.
The Madras high court on Thursday convicted a well-known Youtuber, A Sankar alias 'Savukku' Sankar, for criminal contempt and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment.
In the video, Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, is seen addressing a trial court.
Slamming Raj Kundra's criticism of Justice Lodha Committee's order of suspending the Rajasthan Royals owner from any cricketing activity for life, petitioner in IPL spot-fixing scandal Aditya Verma claimed that the London-based businessman's statement is a contempt of Supreme Court order.
Sanjana Abraham, elder sister of jailed fashion designer Anand Jon, was fined $1,000 and sentenced to either five days in jail or to do 120 hours of community service for contempt of court.
Appearance through video conferencing, refraining from making comments on the physical appearance and educational background of government officials and reasonable time frame for compliance of judicial orders are some of the suggestions enumerated in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) the government has submitted to the Supreme Court for consideration.
Activist Saket Gokhale had sought consent, a condition precedent for initiating criminal contempt proceedings, of the top-most law officer to initiate the case against the former CJI who had reportedly said at an event that the judiciary is "ramshackled" and it is quite unlikely for a person to get a timely verdict.
The plea was filed a day after Attorney General K K Venugopal granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the tweets are in bad taste and it is time that people understand that attacking the apex court brazenly will attract punishment under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1972.
Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who was on an indefinite hunger strike in support of various demands, has broken his fast after the Punjab government intervened and dispersed protesting farmers at Khanauri and Shambhu borders. The Supreme Court lauded Dallewal's efforts and acknowledged the government's action, while also asking for a status report on the situation. Contempt proceedings against the Punjab chief secretary and Director General of Police for not complying with the court's order of providing medical aid to Dallewal were dropped.
The pleas came up for hearing before a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan which heard the submissions of advocate Nishant R Katneshwarkar, who appeared for one of the petitioners and claimed that Kamra had posted several tweets scandalous to the judiciary.
The Supreme Court on Monday closed contempt proceedings against ex-IPL commissioner Lalit Modi after he tendered an unconditional apology for his remarks against the judiciary in social media posts.
A few days back, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation issued a notice to Khan, citing various lapses and lack of the building plan approval (for his house), sources said.
Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal has criticised Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for questioning the judiciary over the timeline for the president to take decisions, calling it "unconstitutional " and a lowering of the dignity of the chair. Sibal asserted that Dhankhar's remarks are not neutral and amount to an attack on the judiciary by the executive. He also pointed out that the president acts on the aid and advice of the council of ministers, and therefore, the president's power cannot be curtailed. Sibal urged Dhankhar to seek a review of the judiciary's decision or an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court if he has problems with it. He also questioned why Dhankhar only focuses on actions taken during Congress governments and not after 2014.
Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday dismissed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's statement demanding his resignation on the ground he was elected in "fraudulent" manner in 2009 Lok Sabha polls calling it a "gross contempt of court".
'Politicians can do symbolism by changing the names of places and museums.' 'Judges need not be seen to be craving for approval from the public.'
The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha, which took it up on board.
The Supreme Court on Monday awarded a four-month sentence to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, accused in a bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, in a contempt case.
Assam Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh was arrested on Saturday for a social media post questioning the status of cases registered against three senior BJP leaders, including a former state chief and two serving MLAs. The arrest came after a complaint by the wife of BJP MLA Manab Deka, who was mentioned in Singh's post. Singh's arrest was met with criticism from the Congress, with Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi alleging that Singh was "brutally dragged away" by police.
The Supreme Court on Friday said if it finds that authorities in Gujarat acted in contempt of its order on demolition of properties, it will ask them to restore the structures.
