Maharashtra’s Governor versus Contempt of Court

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the Supreme Court to temporarily suspend contempt proceedings initiated against him by the Uttarakhand High Court. The High Court initiated proceedings against Koshyari because he did not follow its order to pay market rent for a government bungalow allocated to him as a former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

What is contempt of court?

Contempt of court simply means disrespecting the court in any way. In India, anyone can be punished by the court if they disrespect the court or show contempt towards courts. The law regulating this is the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

There are two types of contempt of court: Civil contempt and Criminal contempt.

Civil contempt

If someone deliberately disobeys any judgment, direction, order, or other process of the court, then they are disrespecting the court and this is civil contempt. Also, if someone purposely violates an undertaking (breaks an agreement or a promise) that they have given to the court, it is civil contempt of court.

Criminal contempt

Criminal contempt of court happens when a person disrespects the court by publishing anything or doing something that: 

• lowers the authority of any court 
• influences or interferes with any judicial proceeding (like a legal case being heard by the court) 
• obstructs the judicial process in any other way

What is not considered as contempt of court?

People can publish fair and accurate reports of court proceedings related to any pending legal case, unless this has been prohibited by the court. It is also permissible to publish a fair analysis of any final judgement given by the court after deciding a case.

Punishment for contempt of court 

If someone disrespects the court through civil or criminal contempt of court, the punishment is jail time for up to six months and/or a fine up to Rupees two thousand. The punishment may be cancelled if the person apologises to the court and the court is satisfied with the apology.

Legal protection for Governors

Koshyari approached the Supreme Court by referring to Article 361 of the Constitution of India, 1950, which says that a State Governor is not answerable to any court for any act done by them while implementing the powers and duties of their office. 

During a Governor’s term of office, criminal proceedings cannot be started or continued against them in any court. Without giving a written notice of two months, civil proceedings cannot be started against the Governor to claim relief for any act done by them in a personal capacity, whether before or after they became Governor. The notice should state the nature of the proceedings, the cause of action, the name, description, and place of residence of the claimant, and the relief claimed.