Litigant can exercise legal remedies but can't make contemptuous allegations, Delhi HC

NEW DELHI: A litigant can exercise his legal remedies but does not have the liberty to make contemptuous allegations and undermine a court's authority, the Delhi high court has said. The court made the observation while taking exception to a lawyer's "patently contemptuous" comments in the chat box of the virtual platform being used for holding a hybrid hearing earlier this month.

The court issued a show-cause notice to the lawyer, who was aggrieved by the court allegedly not hearing his personal case, and asked him to state why a notice for contempt should not be issued and contempt proceedings initiated against him.

Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta noted that the lawyer, who was expected to maintain decorum, has not expressed any remorse and chosen to stand by his comments which seek to "undermine" the authority of the court in public perception.

The judge said the comments were placed in public domain with the intention to "scandalize the court", are "patently contemptuous" and interfere with due course of judicial proceedings, therefore falling within the ambit of criminal contempt under Section 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act.

"This Court is of the considered opinion that petitioner can always exercise the remedies available to him in accordance with law but the same does not give liberty to make contemptuous allegations and undermine the authority of the Court," the judge stated in an order passed on May 9.
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