SC Dismisses Plea Seeking Contempt Against Officials For Unlisted Case, Cites ‘Browbeating’ Registry

The Supreme Court on Friday strongly criticized an attorney for initiating a contempt petition against its officials due to the non-listing of a case despite the court’s directive.

The court called this action as an attempt to ” browbeat” the registry and an “abusive use of the legal process.”

A bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra emphasized that merely because a matter has not been scheduled on a date prescribed by the court doesn’t provide grounds for commencing contempt proceedings against the Secretary-General and the Registrar (Listing).

The bench stated while dismissing the plea, “The present contempt petition is nothing else but an abuse of the process of law…There are certain difficulties on account of which matters cannot be listed, even if the court directs the matter to be listed on a particular date. Filing of a contempt petition for not listing such a matter is an attempt to browbeat the registry, such an attempt is highly deprecated.”

The apex court refrained from imposing a fine on the lawyer, acknowledging the unreserved apology submitted by Adish Aggarwala, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), who was present in court for another case.

Reprimanding the advocate, the bench proposed that instead of resorting to a contempt petition, the lawyer could have opted to file a complaint with the administrative side of the apex court.

The supreme court considered a contempt plea filed concerning a bail application within a case related to abetment of suicide. The lawyer contended that the registry had not scheduled the case despite the top court’s direction.