What constitutes contempt of court? Here’s how a UK judgment from 1968 decided the matter March 4, 2021, 9:44 PM IST Part 5 of the ‘Free to Air’ series
One of the restrictions to free speech, which has been enshrined in the Constitution of India, is contempt of court. Oftentimes, the law on contempt has been used by the judiciary to limit instances of criticism against it. Fortunately, however, there is well-established precedent that all criticism does not qualify as contempt. Where, then, is the line? In India, an overarching law regarding contempt was introduced with the Contempt of Courts Act in 1971. The law’s origins, however, can be traced back to its colonial history and the common law principle that courts of records can punish for contempt. It is only befitting then to turn to a 1968 judgment of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, rendered a few years before the Act was passed, to understand what constitutes contemptuous speech.