Kerala High Court closes contempt case against ex-MLA over FB post alleging 'sangh bias' in judges

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday discharged former CPI(M) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Kerala University syndicate member, R Rajesh, from contempt of court proceedings initiated against him over a Facebook post in which he alleged that some judges were supporters of the Sangh Parivar [Suo Motu v R Rajesh].

A Division Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and KV Jayakumar allowed a discharge plea filed by Rajesh, after finding that initiation of the suo motu contempt case against the former MLA was procedurally flawed.

The contempt proceedings were initiated by single judge Justice DK Singh, on July 7, when the judge observed that the Rajesh's Facebook post amounted to ex facie criminal contempt as it scandalised the Court and interfered with judicial proceedings.

The Division Bench today, however, observed that the procedure adopted by the single judge did not comply with several mandatory provisions of the Contempt of Courts (High Court of Kerala) Rules, 1971.

Rajesh appeared in person before the Court in today's hearing, in compliance with an earlier direction. His lawyer, Senior Counsel Deepak P, submitted that the entire contempt proceeding was vitiated by procedural irregularities.

It was argued that under the 1971 Rules, the Facebook post, which formed the basis of the contempt action, ought to have been placed before an appropriate Bench for preliminary consideration.

However, the learned single judge had unilaterally initiated the contempt proceedings, framed charges, issued notice, and only thereafter referred the matter to the Chief Justice, the Court was told.

The Court, in turn, noted that Rule 9 of the 1971 Rules required all contempt matters to be placed before an appropriate Division Bench, and any notice issued must follow Form 1, accompanied by all relevant materials, which was not done in this case.

The Court concluded that the contempt proceedings initiated against Rajesh were procedurally flawed. It, therefore, allowed his discharge application.

The controversy began on July 5, when Rajesh posted remarks on Facebook suggesting that judicial decisions in education-related matters in the State were politically coloured.

He alleged that judges hearing such matters, including the University Registrar suspension case, were aligned with the Sangh Parivar, a term used to describe the network of organizations affiliated with Hindutva body Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliated organisations.

Justice DK Singh (now a Karnataka High Court judge, following his recent transfer) took exception to such allegations on July 7.

Justice Singh noted that Rajesh had not merely criticised judicial decisions but had directly attacked judges with wild and unsubstantiated accusations. He proceeded to initiate contempt proceedings against the ex-MLA.

Rajesh initially challenged these contempt proceedings by filing an appeal before a Division Bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and Muralee Krishna S.

He argued that only the Chief Justice or a designated judge could initiate contempt actions and that a single judge could not frame such charges directly.

The Bench of Justices Narendran and Krishna rejected this argument and held that the appeal was not maintainable, as there was no punishment yet, and since only charges had been framed so far.

He then moved a discharge application, which has been allowed today.

[Live Coverage]