Facebook post against judge: Kerala High Court sentences V4 Kochi President Nipun Cherian to 4 months in jail for contempt of court

The Kerala High Court on Thursday sentenced 'V4 Kochi' President, Nipun Cherian to four -months of imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 for contempt of court after he levelled corruption allegations against a High Court judge. [Suo Motu Contempt Criminal v Nipun Cherian].A suo motu criminal contempt case was initiated against him for a Facebook post on the V4 Kochi page that raised the allegations.A division bench consisting of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias CP found Cherian guilty of criminal contempt of court and noted that the charge against Cherian stood established primarily because the entire evidence relied upon by him to defend his statements was mere hearsay."On the facts of the instant case, we find that the respondent has unambiguously admitted to making the speech and has also not succeeded in establishing a defence of justification by truth. The entire evidence relied upon by him is hearsay and does not inspire confidence in this court. As regards the contention of the respondent that the learned Judge was carrying out and supervising executive tasks and therefore lacking the character of an adjudication, the same has to be rejected outright as the learned Judge had passed the judgment with directions as part of his judicial duty. We are therefore of the view that the charges against the respondent stand established and he is liable to be punished for contempt of court," the Court observed..The Court underscored that while fair criticism of courts is acceptable, it cannot remain a mute spectator when an impression is created in the minds of the public that judges of the highest court in the State act on extraneous considerations while deciding cases."As we have already observed earlier, while fair and temperate criticism of the court, even if strong, may not be actionable, the attributing of improper motives or actions that tend to bring Judges or courts into hatred and contempt, and thereby erode public confidence in the judicial institution, will certainly lead to the invocation of the contempt jurisdiction so as to uphold the majesty and dignity of the courts of law," the judgement stated..The Court also noted that Cherian's conduct during the proceedings in the contempt case was that of arrogance and obstinance and, therefore, he deserved no leniency."Under such circumstances, and more so since the conduct of the respondent throughout the proceedings has been that of an obstinate and arrogant litigant whose actions are intended to lower the public faith in the judicial institution through the baseless allegations made against a learned Judge of this Court, we are of the view that he does not deserve any lenient view in the matter of punishment," the Court said. .Even though it could have imposed a longer sentence, the Court sentenced Cherian to simple imprisonment of four months taking note of the fact that Cherian is a Graduate Engineer, aged 36 years, who will possibly understand the gravity of his misconduct through sufferance of a lesser punishment and will hopefully desist from resorting to such actions in future."We also direct that any period of imprisonment already undergone by the respondent during these proceedings be set-off against the aforementioned term of four months," the Court added..The Court further directed the Station House Officer, Cyber Cell, Ernakulam to take all steps necessary for removing the video containing the offending speech of Cherian from all electronic media platforms..V4 Kochi is a political organisation cum movement based out of Kochi, Kerala. The organization was formed prior to the 2020 Kerala local elections to contest in Kochi Municipal Corporation. The stated objective of the organization was to ensure good governance through curbing corruption and implementing people-centric policies.[Read Judgment]