Supreme Court issues contempt notice to office-bearers of KPCC for online post targeting CJI

The Supreme Court has issued a contempt notice to all Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office-bearers following a now-deleted social media post that targeted Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The bench, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi, emphasized that the independence of the judiciary is not contingent on political convenience.

They stated that while court judgments can be criticized, freedom of expression cannot be used as a justification for intimidation or interference with the administration of justice. The court highlighted the supremacy of the Constitution, asserting that the independence of the judiciary is a constitutional guarantee owed to the Republic.

The bench demanded an examination to determine if the material warrants the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction under Article 129 of the Constitution, which empowers the Supreme Court to punish for contempt. The court directed the issuance of a show-cause notice to not only the KPCC president but to all its office-bearers. Senior Advocate Ramesh Babu, representing the respondents, claimed the post was uploaded without the approval or consent of the office bearers, and unconditionally apologized. He stated that the post was removed the same day it came to the Committee's notice.