‘Judicial independence not political convenience’: SC issues notice to Keralam Congress
The contempt notice follows a post from the Congress's official X account in Kerala targeting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which was later deleted
New Delhi, Nov 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday (November 6) issued a contempt notice to office-bearers of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee over a social media post targeting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
What SC said
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi said judicial independence could not be treated as a matter of "political convenience" and that no individual or political organisation stood above the Constitution.
The Bench asked the party office-bearers to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
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"Judgments are always open to criticism. Freedom of expression can't be a shield of intimidation to interfere with the administration of justice. Howsoever high position a person occupies, any attempt to undermine the authority of the court needs to be dealt with an iron hand. Authority of the court doesn't require political endorsement; it rests on the rule of law. Where administration of justice is established, the law must take its course," stated the bench.
Court considers action under Article 129
The Court said it would examine the allegations under Article 129 of the Constitution.
"Having nature to the nature of allegations, we consider it appropriate to examine whether the material warrants examination by this Court under Article 129 of the Constitution," the Court said as quoted by the Bar and Bench.
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The report further stated that the court indicated that senior advocates Arvind Datar and Gaurav Agarwal would assist as amici curiae in determining whether criminal or civil contempt proceedings were warranted. Attorney General R Venkataramani was also asked to assist the Court. Counsel for the Kerala Congress told the Bench that an apology would be filed for uploading the post.
‘Judicial restraint is not institutional weakness’
The Court also said judicial restraint should not be mistaken for institutional weakness.
"The authority of this Court requires neither political endorsement nor approval. It rests upon the Constitution and the rule of law," the Court said.
The post appeared on the official X account of the Congress's Kerala unit on October 12 and called for the CJI's resignation. It went viral before being deleted. The party later said it had removed the person responsible.
(With agency inputs)