On Friday, the Supreme Court has sent a contempt notice to K Peterraj Nair, secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for his post on social media against Chief Justice of India Surya Kant last month.
The case was before Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M Pancholi and they made astute observations about the supremacy of law, independence of judiciary and the Constitution.
The court emphasized that there is no body, no institution, no organisation and no political party existing superior to the constitution.
Court Stresses Importance of Judicial Independence
The Supreme Court held that independence of the judiciary was not a matter of political convenience, rather it was the constitutional obligation that one has towards the Republic and its people.
The bench added that any attempts to challenge the court’s jurisdiction will not be taken lightly.
The top court has also designated a senior advocate as amicus curiae to look into whether the case may lead to a criminal and/or civil contempt hearing.
Attorney General R Venkataramani has also been requested to help the court in the case.
Controversial Post Was Later Deleted
Rabindranath Rawat, in a post shared by KPCC against the Chief Justice, quoted what he said during that hearing of Supreme Court regarding allegations of excesses by the Delhi Police during protests of the Cockroach Janta Party.
The post consequently got a lot of criticism and was removed.
The Supreme Court Bar Association and the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association also decried the demand for the CJ’s resignation.
KPCC leaders then apologize and state that one who posted the controversial video is no longer working at KPCC.
Now the issue will be considered further by the Supreme Court.