Kerala Judicial Officers’ Association seeks contempt of court proceedings against those who defamed judge

The Kerala Judicial Officers’ Association has approached the Kerala High Court to initiate contempt proceedings against those who publicly scandalised the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam, who pronounced the judgment in the 2017 actor rape case.

The High Court shall initiate adequate measures to uphold the dignity of the members of the judiciary, to direct the offenders and social media platforms to delete the malicious and derogatory contents, and to restrain social media platforms from exhibiting materials containing such contents.

In its representation, the association sought to protect the independence of the judiciary and to ensure adequate safeguards for judicial officers from such public vilification and scandalisation. Certain media houses and individuals with vested interest began disseminating baseless allegations after she delivered the judgment in the case, while a few leading Malayalam dailies published news of the verdict on their front pages, along with the photograph of the judge, in violation of the directions of the apex court, it noted.

The association also named a few actors, lawyers, journalists, and dubbing artistes for making aggressive and derogatory comments. The comments of some lawyers were contemptuous and unbecoming of legal professionals governed by the Advocates Act.

The statements made by some individuals amounted to criminal contempt made with mala fide intentions. The contemners, who made the allegations of a criminal nature against a lady judge on platforms accessible worldwide, lowered the authority of the judiciary in the public eye and attracted criminal contempt, noted T. Madhusoodanan, the president of the association.

The representation noted that the videos and articles circulated through social media platforms contained wild, defamatory, and scandalous imputations against the judicial officer. Noting that such materials are intended to erode public confidence in the judiciary by scandalising a judge in the eyes of the public and amounted to criminal contempt of court under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the body sought the High Court’s urgent intervention in the matter.