Contempt of court is any act that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. It is an offence of being disrespectful or disobedient towards a court of law or interfering with its procedure.
A contempt of court generally referred to as just “contempt” can be amounted to both inside or outside a courtroom. An example of contempt outside of the courtroom is a public threat to the court.
Contempt of court is a matter between the court and the contemnor. The power to punish the contemnor for contempt is extraordinary and is exercised only when the public interest demands so. This power enables the court to ensure the proper administration of justice.
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Contempt of Court under the Constitution
Article 129 of the Indian Constitution deals with contempt of the Supreme Court of India. The article reads as follows:
“The Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself.”
Hence, this article makes the Supreme Court a court of record as well as provides it the power to punish for contempt of itself.
Further, just like the Supreme Court, The High Court has also been given similar powers under Article 215, the article reads as follows:
“High Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself”
The courts however cannot exercise the power to punish for contempt as provided under Articles 129 and 215 as and when they wish. However, Article 142 (2), of the constitution does enforce the Supreme Court with the power to investigate and punish any contemnor.
In 1991, in the case of Delhi Judicial Service Association V. State of Gujarat (AIR 1991 SC 2176) the Supreme Court gave Article 129 a wider interpretation and ruled that it has the power to punish for contempt not only of itself but also of high courts, subordinate courts, and tribunals.
Object of Contempt under the Constitution
The object of Articles 129 and 215 is to show that contempt is an injustice or injury, not to the judge who is the target of insults but rather to the court as a public institution established by the constitution to administer justice. Dr. Avtar Singh has rightly put that “Injury to the court is an injury to the public.”
What constitutes Contempt of Court
Lord Hardwick, classified contempt into three distinct types:
Scandalising the court itself.
Abusing parties who are concerned in the case, in the presence of the court.
Prejudicing the public before the case is heard.
Essentials for Contempt of Court consist of:
Existence of a valid court order,
Contemnor shall know of the order,
Compliance with the order should not be impossible, and
Wilful disobedience of the order by the contemnor
Contempt of Courts Act 1971
The Constitution of India, under articles 129 and 215, only empowered the courts to punish the contempt of itself but it did not provide, regarding what constitutes contempt or the procedure to be followed for such trial, it doesn’t even contain a definition for contempt, hence, the Supreme Court followed the summary procedure when it came to the topic of contempt cases.
But, this vagueness regarding contempt only lasted till 1971 with the coming out of a specific law which dealt with contempt of court that was known as The Contempt of Courts Act of 1971 ( ACT NO. 70 OF 1971 ). This act was enforced on 24th December 1971 and consists of 24 sections. The main purpose of this act is to regulate the procedure concerning contempt of courts and limit the punishment thereof.
Definition under the act
Contempt under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 ( ACT NO. 70 OF 1971 ) is divided into two parts by Section 2 (a) of the act. They are:
Civil contempt;
Criminal contempt.
Civil contempt under Section 2(b) is defined to mean wilful disobedience to any judgement, decree, direction, order, writ, or other processes of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court;
Criminal contempt under Section 2(c) is defined to mean means the publication whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representations, or otherwise of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which:
scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court; or
prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceeding; or
interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs, or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner.
However, innocent publication and distribution of some matters ( Section 3 ), fair and accurate reports of judicial proceedings ( Section 4 ), fair and reasonable criticism of judicial acts ( Section 5 ), and comments on the administrative side of the judiciary ( Section 6 ) do not amount to contempt of court.
Punishment for Contempt of Court
Section 12 (1) of the act enforces a punishment of simple imprisonment which shall not extend more than 6 months or a fine of not more than 2,000/- rupees or both. The section also provides that the accused may also be discharged without any punishment on the submission of an apology which is to the satisfaction of the Court.
Section 12 (2) makes the limit prescribed in Section 12(1) of the act absolute, hence no court can impose a punishment more than what is prescribed in the previous subsection.
Section 12 (3) further empowers a court with the ability to punish any accused convicted of committing civil contempt with time in a civil prison.
Contempt when not punishable
Section 13 provides for instances when contempt shall not be punishable.
Any contempt which is of such a nature that it does not substantially interfere, or tends substantially to interfere with the due course of justice;
Any contempt that is justified by truth is a valid defence, but this is dependent only if the court is satisfied that remission of the contempt is in the public interest and the request for invoking the said defence is bona fide.
Cognizance of Contempt
According to Section 14, when contempt is in the face of the Supreme Court or High Court, the court shall detain the accused and thereafter, shall
Inform him of the contempt with which he is charged, in writing;
Provide him an opportunity to make his defence on the aforesaid charges;
Proceed to determine the matter of charge after hearing the accused and examining all the evidence presented;
Punish or discharge the accused as the case may be.
In case of criminal contempt, Section 15 is followed which empowers the Supreme Court and the High Court to take cognizance of the case either suo moto or on a motion made by -
The Advocate-General;
Any other person with the consent of the Advocate General.
In the case of any criminal contempt of a subordinate court, the High Court may take action on a reference made to it by the subordinate court or on a motion made by the Advocate-General [ Section 15 (2) ]
Finally, Section 20 limits the court from taking cognizance of any contempt, either on its own motion or otherwise, if such procedure is presented to it after one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have been committed.
Little Known Facts
A case of criminal contempt can only be heard by a bench of more than 2 judges ( Section 18 ), this section however does not apply to the court of a Judicial Commissioner.
Even a Judge, Magistrate, or any other person acting judicially can be held liable for contempt of his own court or of any other court just like any other individual and the provisions of the 1971 act shall apply accordingly [ Section 16 (1) ]
The Code of Criminal Procedure does not apply in matters of contempt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is contempt of court bailable?
A. Yes, contempt of court is a bailable offence
Q. Can a judge be held liable for Contempt of Court?
A. Section 16 of the Contempt of Courts Act of 1971 makes it possible for any judicial officer to be held liable for Contempt of Court.
Q. Is lying Contempt of Court?
A. Yes, Any person who makes a false statement before the Court or makes an attempt to deceive the Court in any way, interferes with the administration of justice and is guilty of contempt of Court.
Q. Can contempt of court be challenged?
A. Yes, Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 allows a person to challenge the decision of the Court.
Q. Is Contempt of Court a criminal or civil offence?
A. Section 2 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 divides contempt into two parts, civil and criminal, hence, contempt is both a criminal as well as a civil offence depending on the case.
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