Should there not be an appeal when a person is convicted for contempt of court by Supreme Court? Apex Court asks

The Supreme Court on Friday asked whether any method can be devised for creating an appellate remedy in cases where a person is convicted for contempt of court by the Supreme Court as court of the first instance. .A Bench of Justices UU Lalit and Ajay Rastogi observed that in such cases, a person convicted is deprived of any appellate remedy. "When in a matter a person has been charged of criminal contempt , that person will stand deprived of appeal if that order is by Supreme Court," Justice Lalit remarked."How do we create this right of appeal like curative petition as that too is not under statute," he asked Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra who was appearing in the matter. .The top court was hearing a suo motu contempt petition by which the Court had convicted Vijay Kurle, Nilesh Ojha and Rashid Pathan for levelling serious allegations against Justices Rohinton Nariman and Vineet Saran for sentencing advocate Mathews Nedumpara in a contempt case.The Court had directed Vijay, Nilesh and Rashid to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months each and fine of Rs 2000.They had moved an application seeking extension of time to surrender. .The bench on Friday noted that the contemnors have withdrawn all allegations and prayers in the writ petitions except the one on intra-court appeal similar to the one raised by advocate Prashant Bhushan.Bhushan had also moved the top court contending that a person convicted for contempt of court by the Supreme Court, is left with no appellate remedy. This was after he was convicted by for contempt by a Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra in August 2020 for his remarks against then Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde. .The top court said it was hopeful that Bhushan's plea on the issue, which is pending before the top court, will be listed this month and directed that plea by the three contemnors in this case also be listed with the same. The Court also said that the contemnors will be at liberty to make a mentioning in case their plea is not listed with the petition by Bhushan. It then proceeded to extend the time granted to the contemnors to surrender, by a month. .During the hearing, Justice Ajay Rastogi took strong objection to the contemnors raising allegations against Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra since he was "a court appointed amicus curiae" and did not join the case on his own."The statements against Senior Advocate Luthra were later withdrawn by the contemnors. .[Read Live Thread].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.