Skip to main content

Contempt of Courts Act 1971 and Rules

 Contempt of Courts Act 1971 and Rules

"The phrase 'Contempt of Court' is a generic word that describes behaviour in regard to specific procedures in a court of law that seeks to undermine that system or prevent citizens from using it to resolve their issues." Lord Diplock provided this concept in his opinion in the matter of Attorney-General v. Times Newspapers Ltd. 

Contempt of Court is defined as disobedience or contempt toward a court of law, which indicates that we willfully fail to obey a court order or disrespect legal authority. The court can then impose punishment such as fines or sentence the offender to prison for a certain amount of time if he is found guilty of Contempt of Court.

The idea of contempt of court is defined in India by Section 2(a) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, which essentially defines it as civil or criminal contempt.

Article 129 of the Indian Constitution and Article 142(2) of the Indian Constitution both deal with contempt of court.

129th Article

According to Article 129, the Supreme Court is a "Court of Record" with all of the authorities of such courts, including the jurisdiction to penalise for contempt of court.

The term "Court of Record" refers to a court that has its actions and procedures recorded for everlasting memory or indefinite memory, as well as evidence or proof. The accuracy of these documents cannot be questioned, and they are also recognised as authoritative. And anything said in defiance of the accuracy of these documents was considered contempt of court.

142nd Article (2)

Contempt of Court is also discussed in this article. This Article states that when the Parliament passes a legislation including the requirements listed in clause 1 of this Article, the Supreme Court has complete authority to issue an order requiring anyone's attendance, submission of any documents, or penalty for contempt.

In addition, does not mean that the Supreme Court can do anything against the right of personal liberty if it has the power to punish for Contempt of Court. We know that it is the guardian of all the rights that we get from the Indian Constitution so it has to safeguard these rights and cannot violate these rights itself.

In India, the current function pertaining to ex facie contempt of subordinate courts is insufficient and misleading. It appears that plainly, the challenges in this respect are the after product of overlap of contempt powers under the Indian Penal Code, Contempt of Courts Act and contempt powers of the Supreme Court and High Court under the Indian constitution. The situation has become more difficult as a result of the Supreme Court's and High Court's differing interpretations of several parts of the Indian Penal Code dealing with interference with the administration of justice and the exclusion clause in the Contempt of Courts Act. Not only the higher court, but also the lower court, should have the authority to deal with contempt. Contempt of Court if seen from the perspective of the judges, higher judicial officials seems good but if it comes to the perspective of common people it turns towards its bad effect.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Effects of Non-Registration

 Effects of Non-Registration The Companies Act, 2013 evidently highlights that the main essential for any organization to turn into a company is to get itself registered. A company cannot come into existence until it gets registered. But no such obligation has been imposed for firms by the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. If a firm is not registered it does not cease to be called as a firm, it still exists in the eyes law. Certainly, such a big advantage is not absolute but is subjected to a lot of limitations which we will study further. Non-registration of a firm simply means that the business skips the formalities of incorporation and ceases to exist in the eyes of the law. section 58 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 deals with the procedure of incorporation. Likewise, the meaning of non-registration is the exact opposite of registration, meaning when a firm does not go through the procedure of incorporation or start carrying on activities without getting registered. Effects of ...

Case Laws related to Defamation in favour of ClaimantCase Laws related to Defamation in favour of Claimant. TOLLEY Vs, J.S FRY & SONS LTD – (1931) Facts The defendants were owners of chocolate manufacturing company. They advertised their products with a caricature of the claimant, who was a prominent amateur golfer, showing him with the defendants’ chocolate in his pocket while playing golf. The advertisement compared the excellence of the chocolate to the excellence of the claimant’s drive. The claimant did not consent to or knew about the advertisement. Issue The claimant alleged that the advertisement suggested that he agreed to his portrait being used for commercial purposes and for financial gain. He further claimed that the use of his image made him look like someone who prostituted his reputation for advertising purposes and was thus unworthy of his status. At trial, several golfers gave evidence to the effect that if an amateur sold himself for advertisement, he no longer maintained his amateur status and might be asked to resign from his respective club. Furthermore, there was evidence that the possible adverse effects of the caricature on the claimant’s reputation were brought to the defendants’ attention. The trial judge found that the caricature could have a defamatory meaning. The jury then found in favor of the claimant. Held The House of Lords held that in the circumstances of this case – as explained by the facts – the caricature was capable of constituting defamation. In other words, the publication could have the meaning alleged by the claimant. The Lords also ordered a new trial limited to the assessment of damages. NEWSTEAD V LANDON EXPRESS NEWSPAPER LTD, (1939) Facts: A newspaper published a defamatory article about Harold Newstead. However, another person with this name brought an action in libel. He claimed that the article had been misunderstood as leading to him. The defendant newspaper recognised that they published the article. Also, they denied that they had the intention of being defamatory of him. Consequently, the claimant argued that the newspaper was under a duty. The duty was to give a clear and complete description of the correct person. Moreover, the claimant argued that the defendants were in breach of the duty. Issues: The issue in Newstead v London Express Newspaper, was if the reasonable persons would have understood the words complained of to refer to the plaintiff. Held: The Court of Appeal stated that in accordance with the current law on libel, liability for libel does not depend on the intention of the defamer; but on the fact of the defamation. Accordingly, a reasonable man, in this case a newspaper publisher, must be aware of the possibility of individuals with the same name and must assume that the words published will be read by a reasonable man with reasonable care.

  Case Laws related to Defamation in favour of Claimant.  TOLLEY  Vs,  J.S FRY & SONS LTD – (1931) Facts The defendants were owners of chocolate manufacturing company. They advertised their products with a caricature of the claimant, who was a prominent amateur golfer, showing him with the defendants’ chocolate in his pocket while playing golf. The advertisement compared the excellence of the chocolate to the excellence of the claimant’s drive. The claimant did not consent to or knew about the advertisement.   Issue The claimant alleged that the advertisement suggested that he agreed to his portrait being used for commercial purposes and for financial gain. He further claimed that the use of his image made him look like someone who prostituted his reputation for advertising purposes and was thus unworthy of his status. At trial, several golfers gave evidence to the effect that if an amateur sold himself for advertisement, he no longer maintained his amateur ...

Concept of constitutionalism

  Concept of constitutionalism Who Started Constitutionalism? John Locke - The English Bill of Rights is a foundational constitutional document that helped inspire the American Bill of Rights. Political theorist  John Locke  played a huge role in cementing the philosophy of constitutionalism.  Constitution is a written law which describes the structure of Government, the rules according to which the Govt. must work and the boundaries within which the Govt. must work. Constitutionalism   can be defined as the doctrine that governs the legitimacy of government action, and it implies something far more important than the idea of legality that requires official conduct to be in accordance with pre-fixed legal rules. Constitution constitution is the document that contains the basic and fundamental law of the nation, setting out the organization of the government and the principles of the society. Basic norm (or law) of the state; System of integration and organi...