Arundhati punishment black spot in judicial history: Judge

Arundhati punishment black spot in judicial history: Judge


Maneesh Chhibber Posted online: Wed May 26 2010, 02:44 hrs

New Delhi : After taking on the Chief Justice of India and Supreme Court collegium for “blissfully remaining insensitive to public opinion/reaction”, Karnataka High Court Judge D V Shylendra Kumar has opened up once again: this time blasting the higher judiciary for refusing to be accountable to anyone and also for the “phenomenon of tyrannical and abusive exercise of the power for punishing people for contempt”.

Delivering the endowment lecture at SDM Law College, Mangalore, on Saturday, Kumar said the punishment awarded to author Arundhati Roy for contempt of court “will remain as a black spot in the judicial history of this country forever”.



“I am of the personal opinion that the day when Supreme Court punished Ms Arundhati Roy for contempt and sentenced her to undergo a day’s imprisonment and sent her to Tihar Jail in the case, was the darkest day in the history of the Indian judiciary. I, as a judge, through this expression, offer my personal regret and apology to Ms Arundhati Roy for the judicial tyranny let loose on her by the most improper use of the power to punish a person for committing contempt of court,” he said.



In his address, Kumar also said he was of the opinion that the power to punish people who have committed contempt of court proceedings and orders was a “very drastic power without even reasonable safeguards, but more disturbingly without adequate remedial measures at all”.



“If mistakes, errors or even illegalities are committed in the exercise of this power and this definitely happens when the power is abused at the level of superior courts in this country and of course becomes irreversible and without remedy when it happens at the highest level of the judicial system, abuse of judicial power is total and lack of judicial accountability perpetuates the abuse... It is high time members in the superior courts of this country exhibited greater awareness of the sense of judicial accountability required to be exhibited and adhered to while exercising the unruly power of punishing people for committing contempt of court,” he said.



The judge, who first hit the headlines for taking on the previous Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan over the issue of implementation of the Right to Information Act in the higher judiciary, called upon the legislature to get active in the wake of past experiences and to usher in suitable legislation to ensure that the power (of contempt) doesn’t “become tyrannical”.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/623780/