If Contempt Is In The Face Of Court, Judges Can Take Immediate Action Without Issuing Notice: SC [Read Judgment]
To hold Advocate Mathews Nedumpara guilty of contempt, the Supreme Court followed the dictum that when contempt is in the face of court, summary procedure can be followed to inflict punishment "then and there". The bench made reference to the precedents Leila David v. State of Maharashtra, 10 SCC 337 and Ram Niranjan Roy v. State of Bihar & Ors., 12 SCC 11 and R.K. Anand v. Delhi High Court, 8 SCC 106, which held that if the contempt is gross and in the face, immediate action can be taken by judges to inflict punishment "then and there", without affording opportunity of defence. "This is not the first time that this particular advocate has attempted to browbeat and insult Judges of this Court", observed the bench of Justice R F Nariman and Vineet Saran while holding advocate Mathews Nedumpara guilty of committing contempt in the face of the court. Based on these incidents, the SC observed "Nedumpara is in the habit of terrorising Tribunal members and using intemperate language to achieve his ends before several Judges of the Bombay High Court" "If lawyers can be bold enough to file writ petitions on observations judicially made by a Judge of the High Court, the very independence of the judiciary itself comes under threat", Justice Nariman noted in the judgment.
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