The illegal step by the government has tarnished the apex court's sanctity, according to retired Justice Tariq Mahmood.
The Supreme Court has ordered initiation of contempt proceedings against Uttar Pradesh chief secretary for flagrant violation of its direction to stop construction activities at statues and memorials in Lucknow.
A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court for initiation of contempt proceedings against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), alleging it has violated the timeline for completing the investigation and submitting its report on the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Adani group. An application has been filed by PIL petitioner Vishal Tiwari saying that despite the deadline given to the SEBI it has failed to comply with the direction of the court and has not submitted the final conclusion/report as was directed by the court. It said by the order dated May 17, 2023, the apex court directed SEBI to submit its report till August 14, 2023.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, which on July 22, had issued show cause notice to Bhushan after initiating the criminal contempt against him for his two alleged derogatory tweets against the judiciary, had reserved the verdict on Wednesday.
As the Pakistan People's Party plans to file a review petition against the Supreme Court verdict on Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, experts say that the premier should step down on moral grounds before the country plunges into another political crisis. Tahir Ali reports
A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Gujarat government, and did not pass any interim status quo order in the meantime as sought by the counsel of the Muslim parties.
The top law officer was of the view that the "prima facie" conduct of the chief minister and his principal advisor was 'contumacious', but declined consent saying Reddy had sent the letter to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde who was seized of the matter.
Calcutta high court judge C S Karnan, evading arrest since May 9, on Wednesday failed to get relief from the Supreme Court, which refused to hear his plea seeking a stay on its order awarding him a six-month jail term for contempt of court.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has recused himself from hearing pleas related to the alleged illegal felling of hundreds of trees in the Delhi Ridge area. The decision comes after a previous bench, led by former CJI D Y Chandrachud, sought a personal affidavit from Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in the case, which also sought contempt proceedings against certain DDA officials. CJI Khanna stated that his prior involvement with the Delhi LG while serving as the NALSA chairman would make it inappropriate for him to hear the plea. The bench has ordered the listing of the pleas before a different bench starting November 27.
The joint petition, filed by senior journalist N Ram, former Union minister Arun Shourie, and lawyer Prashant Bhushan, submitted that the impugned sub-section is unconstitutional as it is incompatible with preambular values and basic features of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued contempt notice to former Army Chief Gen V K Singh, saying his remarks against its order on his age row prima facie amounts to "scandalising" and undermining the authority of the court.
After designer Anand Jon's sentencing on Monday, the focus shifts to his sister Sanjana Abraham and a juror named Alvin Dymally, both of whom face contempt of court charges. The duo will face a trial in a few weeks. Judge David Wesley said they violated a court order by speaking to each other.
Calcutta high court judge Justice C S Karnan will observe hunger strikes in Delhi and three other cities demanding restoration of his administrative and judicial work and withdrawal of the suo motu contempt proceedings against him.
Bhushan on August 31 was directed to deposit the fine with the Supreme Court registry by September 15 and failure to comply would entail a three-month jail term and debarment from law practice for three years.
Bhushan has been raising issues pertaining to judiciary and recently he was very critical and vocal of the way in which the top court handled the matters related to migrant workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the wake of adjourned meeting of the BCCI's working committee, Aditya Verma, the petitioner in the IPL spot-fixing case, claimed that the entire committee would have drawn contempt of court if former president N Srinivasan had participated in the working committee's meeting in Kolkata on Friday.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain a plea alleging contempt of its order on demolition of properties by the authorities in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea seeking action against Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for his claims about his wife's recovery from stage 4 cancer, emphasizing the right to free speech. The court stated that Sidhu's claims were merely opinions and could be countered by others through free speech, not legal action. The petitioner argued that Sidhu's claims about the efficacy of certain dietary remedies could mislead the public, but the court asserted that if Sidhu's wife, a doctor herself, felt better with a specific diet, it was her prerogative. The court further suggested that the petitioner focus on issues like alcohol and cigarette consumption if truly concerned about public interest.
The Delhi government is embroiled in multiple litigations with the Lieutenant Governor in the Supreme Court including its plea challenging the Centre's law establishing pre-eminence of the LG over the elected dispensation in controlling services in the national capital.
Attorney General K K Venugopal had granted consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against Kamra, saying the tweets were in "bad taste".
Two state hockey bodies have expressed astonishment over Hockey India's official communication asking them to furnish details of their top officials for the World Cup accreditation, terming the move as 'contempt of court'.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday approached a Delhi court seeking revision of its order directing the agency to withdraw a Look Out Circular issued against Aakar Patel even as the activist filed a contempt plea against the agency, stating that he was not allowed to leave the country once again despite the court's order.
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Venugopal said it is true that the judgment of the top court also notes the fact that Savarkar has been found not guilty of Gandhiji's murder in the criminal trial. However, if one reads the judgment as a whole, it is clear that the court was disinclined to go into the findings of the Justice Kapoor Commission of Inquiry, the AG said.
The Wrestling Federation of India conveyed to the world governing body UWW that the sports ministry is interfering with its autonomy.
The Supreme Court on Thursday gave a final opportunity to fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya, accused in bank loan default case of over Rs 9,000 crore involving his defunct Kingfisher Airlines, to appear before it personally or through his lawyer in a contempt case where he has been found guilty. The top court said it has given multiple opportunities to Mallya to appear either personally or through a lawyer and had even given specific directions in its last order dated November 30, 2021. A bench of justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha posted the contempt case for further hearing after two weeks, saying that respondent contemnor (Mallya) is at liberty to act as per direction given in order dated November 30 last year, failing which the matter shall be taken to its "logical conclusion".
The Supreme Court has registered a suo motu contempt case against journalist Rajdeep Sardesai for his tweets allegedly scandalising the judiciary.
A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra was informed by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who was representing the petitioners, that they want to withdraw the plea as several petitions on the same issue are pending before the apex court and they don't want 'this to be entangled' with them.
The top court had in November 2009 issued contempt notice to Bhushan and Tejpal for allegedly casting aspersions on some sitting and former top court judges in an interview to a news magazine.
The matter is pending for a long time and it be listed before the appropriate bench on September 10, the bench said in a hearing conducted through video conferencing.
Venugopal further wrote: "The depiction of the two fingers, with the legend that he means the middle one, is to deliberately insult the Chief Justice of India which would equally be an insult to the Supreme Court of India itself, which the Chief Justice heads."
The bench of Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka expressed displeasure over the abstention of work, saying access to justice is the very foundation of the legal system.
Bhushan, who has already deposited Re 1 as fine with the apex court's registry on September 14, has filed two separate review petitions in the contempt case. The first review plea on September 14 had challenged the August 14 verdict convicting him for the contempt of court, while the second plea has been filed against the August 31 sentencing order which imposed the fine.
Kamra in his reply had defended the alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary, saying India would be reduced to a "country of incarcerated artists and flourishing lapdogs" if powerful people and institutions show inability to "tolerate rebuke or criticism".
The Bombay high court on Wednesday said it does not pay heed to remarks made by political leaders and others against the judiciary and remarked that the shoulders of the court are broad enough and as long as the court's conscience is clean, people can say whatever they want to.
'Considering the fact that the Attorney General for India has already declined to grant his consent in the present matter for the reasons detailed in the said letter...the present request made to me is misconceived,' Mehta said in his letter addressed to lawyer Anuj Saxena.
'My view hasn't changed because the silence of the Supreme Court of India on matters of other's personal liberty cannot go uncriticised'
In an unprecedented verdict, the top court said the criminal jurisprudence required courts to apply judicial mind to the facts of a case before granting police custody if it was "genuinely required".
The Delhi high court had directed the Centre on Tuesday to show cause as to why contempt should not be initiated against it for failing to comply with its order.
A plea claimed that Bhaskar had made "derogatory and scandalous" statements against the courts in the country and mentioned the Ayodhya case judgement.
