The Supreme Court has registered a suo motu contempt case against journalist Rajdeep Sardesai for his tweets allegedly scandalising the judiciary.
The Supreme Court on Monday took strong note of a resolution passed by a district bar association in Rajasthan restraining lawyers from defending the accused in cases under a legal aid scheme of NALSA, saying it is "sheer criminal contempt" and warning it will send those responsible to jail.
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.
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.
'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.
'And then the people who call themselves great nationalists, I can bet you that 99 per cent of them are dodging taxes, have sent their kids to America, or are doing everything to make sure that what goes on in this country doesn't affect their personal wealth or their whatever bull*&$%.'
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."
A lawyer has submitted an audio clip to the Delhi High Court, allegedly containing an admission by a senior Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) officer about attempts to frame a special judge in a corruption case. The lawyer, representing a court staff member who filed a petition seeking an independent investigation, claims the ACB lodged an FIR against the staff member to "settle score" with the judge who issued notices to the ACB's joint commissioner for alleged threats to staff. The audio clip allegedly features an ACB officer admitting to framing the judge due to adverse rulings and suggesting that the judge was targeted due to his questioning of the ACB's investigations.
'My view hasn't changed because the silence of the Supreme Court of India on matters of other's personal liberty cannot go uncriticised'
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.
Gandhi had expressed "regret" on Monday over his remarks in connection with the Rafale judgment and said in his affidavit that his statement was "purely political".
The high court asked him to appear after he tendered an unconditional apology, through an affidavit, for his alleged remarks.
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.
A contemnor can be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend up to six months or with a fine of up to Rs 2,000 or with both.
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 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.
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.
The Supreme Court on Thursday closed activist Tushar Gandhi's contempt plea against the Delhi police after taking note of submissions that a charge sheet in a case of hate speeches made at religious assemblies in the national capital in 2021 was filed in a court in New Delhi.
"The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada," the statement added.
Earlier, a row erupted after Surya said the court functioned virtually, but asked students to appear for NEET, prompting a Madras high court judge and an advocates associaton to seek contempt action against him, while six former judges took a stand against it.
A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices R Banumathi and U U Lalit fixed the contempt plea for hearing on Monday when the plea alleged that by terming the execution as "judicial killing", Kumar and others have committed contempt of the court which had delivered the verdict.
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.
The Election Commission has written to heads of recognised political parties saying that it has created a fund in which fines for contempt of court can be deposited for failing to comply with the apex court's directions.
The Supreme Court Tuesday extended the stay on criminal proceedings against former Wipro chairman Azim Premji, his wife and others on their plea seeking quashing of summons issued by a Bengaluru court on a "frivolous" and "mischievous" complaint filed by an NGO alleging breach of trust and corruption in merger of three companies with a Premji group firm. A bench of justices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh was hearing an appeal filed by Premji challenging the Karnataka high court order of May 15 which had rejected their pleas for quashing of the January 27 summons issued by the trial court.
The Delhi government must come before the court and tell "how it will compensate for the damage caused to the environment due to its illegal acts", the bench said.
In more than one way, it's a setback for the DMK and Chief Minister Stalin in political terms. The electoral fall-out, if any, will have to wait until the next summer, only when assembly elections are due in the state, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
Bhushan said as an officer of court he believes as a duty to speak up when he believe there is a deviation from its sterling record.
Two serving lieutenant generals have approached the Armed Forces Tribunal seeking criminal contempt proceedings against the defence secretary, accusing him of "open defiance" of the tribunal's orders.
The Supreme Court on Saturday gave the Punjab government time till December 31 to persuade farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who has been fasting for over a month, to shift to hospital.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is a member of the newly constituted 10 member draft committee of the Lokpal Bill along with his father Shanti Bhushan, has decided to move a criminal contempt petition in the Supreme Court on Monday."I am moving a criminal contempt petition in the Supreme Court against those who have brought out a controversial CD against my father Shanti Bhushan with the intention of maligning his name," Prashant Bushan said.
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.
In an unprecedented order to check criminalisation of politics, the Supreme Court on Tuesday held nine political parties including the ruling BJP and JD (U) in Bihar guilty of contempt and fined eight of them for violating its February, 2020 order on publication of criminal antecedents of their candidates for the assembly polls.
'Government cannot pick and choose as to against whom they want to take action and against whom they do not want to take action.'
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.
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 court said the remarks made by Gandhi were far from true and he should have refrained from those and could have been careful.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on these contrasting images of Freedom of Speech that exists in our great land.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Lekhi, told the bench that the apology tendered by Gandhi should be rejected and action must be taken against him as per the law.
The minority judgment of the 1998 verdict has highlighted the prima facie absurdity in the paradox created by the majority judgment, it said.
Stating that Twitter's (in)action is tantamount to contempt of court, a division bench, comprising Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice M Satyanarayana Murthy, on Monday asked why criminal proceedings could not be initiated against it.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances