There is no doubt that the Court like any other institution does not enjoy immunity from fair criticism. No Court can claimA Claim A claim is “factually unsustainable” where it could be said with confidence before trial that the factual basis for the claim is entirely without substance, which can be the case if it were clear beyond question that the facts pleaded are contradicted by all the documents or other material on which it is based. to be always right although it does not spare any effort to be right according to the best of the ability, knowledgeKnowledge η γνώση (Greek), scientia (scientia), ज्ञानम् (Sanskrit), 知识 Zhīshì (China) > Wnen an informed person digest the data receiver through sense his organs or intuition, digest it through electro-neuro function and make it part of his psyche, then it is called Knowledge. Vedic Nasadiya Sukta questioned the possibility of ultimate truth or knowledge. and judgmentJudgment The statement given by the Judge on the grounds of a decree or order - CPC 2(9). It contains a concise statement of the case, points for determination, the decision thereon, and the reasons for such decision - Order 20 Rule 4(2). Section 354 of CrPC requires that every judgment shall contain points for determination, the decision thereon and the reasons for the decision. Indian Supreme Court Decisions > Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts (Art 141 Indian Constitution) Civil and judicial authorities to act in aid of the Supreme Court (Art 144) Supreme Court Network On Judiciary – Portal > Denning: “Judges do not speak, as do actors, to please. They do not speak, as do advocates, to persuade. They do not speak, as do historians, to recount the past. They speak to give Judgment. And in their judgments, you will find passages, which are worthy to rank with the greatest literature….” Law Points on Judgment Writing > The judge must write to provide an easy-to-understand analysis of the issues of law and fact which arise for decision. Judgments are primarily meant for those whose cases are decided by judges (State Bank of India and Another Vs Ajay Kumar Sood SC 2022) of the Judges. They do not think themselves to be in possession of all truthTruth Mathematical 'truth' may not be agreeable with the philosophical 'truth.' A question may be asked on propositional 'truth' on the grounds of physics, that space and time actually don't exist. Vedic injunction Satyam Param Dhimahi, technically Satya is none other than Brahman. For Madhymic Buddhists there is nothing as such to be called 'truth', as all the corresponding facts are only mental projections. Apart from Bio-neuroelectricity nothing exists for Biological Cognition. So-called religious truths are nothing more than a marketing strategy. to hold that wherever others differ from them are in error. No one is more conscious of his limitations and fallibility than a Judge. But because of his training and the assistance he gets from learned counsel he is apt to avoid mistakes more than others. While fair and temperate criticism of the Court even if strong, may not be actionable, but attributing improper motives or tending to bring Judges or Courts into hatred and contempt or obstructing directly or indirectly with the functioning of Courts is serious contempt of which notice must be and will be taken. Respect is expected not only from those to whom the judgment of the Court is acceptable but also from those to whom it is repugnant. Those who err in their criticism by indulging in vilification of the institution of Court, administration of justice and the instruments through which the administration acts, should take heed for they will act at their own peril. To similar effect were the observations of Hidayatullah, C.J., (as the learned judge was then) in R.C. Cooper v. Union of IndiaIndia Bharat Varsha (Jambu Dvipa) is the name of this land mass. The people of this land are Sanatan Dharmin and they always defeated invaders. Indra (10000 yrs) was the oldest deified King of this land. Manu's jurisprudence enlitened this land. Vedas have been the civilizational literature of this land. Guiding principles of this land are : सत्यं वद । धर्मं चर । स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमदः । Read more (AIR 1970 SC 1318).
LordLord Adoni in Hebrew (אָדוֹן) and dominions in Larin. άρχοντας / κύριος in NT Russel of Killowen, L.C. J, has laid down in Reg v. Gray 1900(2) QB 36 at 40 as follows:
“Judges and Courts are alike open to criticism and if reasonable argumentArgument An argument serves as the process of presenting reasons to support a belief, and also refers to the reasons themselves. It can also denote a disagreement where opposing parties openly voice their opinions and dispute each other's claims. In U.S. v. Palma, the Eighth Circuit rejected the use of the "golden rule" argument, emphasizing that it could lead jurors to decide based on personal bias rather than evidence, thus departing from neutrality. or expostulation is offered against any judicial act as contrary to law or public good, no Court could or would treat that as contempt of CourtContempt of Court Failure to obey a court order. A disregard of, or disobedience to, the rules or orders of a judicial body or an interruption of its proceedings by disorderly behavior or insolent language. Civil Contempt: Noncompliance with a court order or rule that affects another person; punishment is administered to compel compliance.”. Indeed, Section 5 of the Act now provides that a person shall not be guilty of contempt of Court for publishing any fair comment on the meritsMerits Strict legal rights of the parties; a decision “on the merits” is one that reaches the right(s) of a party as distinguished from a disposition of the case on a ground not reaching the rights raised in the action; for example, in a criminal case double jeopardy does not apply if charges are nolle prossed before trial commences, and in a civil action res judicata does not apply if a previous action was dismissed on a preliminary motion raising a technicality such as improper service of process. of any case which has been heard and finally decided. But, if such a defence is taken, it is always open to test whether the publication alleged to be offending was by way of fair comment on the merits of the case or was personal scurrilous abuse of a Judge as a Judge, for abuse of a Judge or a Court or attacks on the personal character of a Judge are clearly punishable contempt. As stated in para 2 at page 21 of Volume-9 of Halsbury’s Laws of EnglandEngland In England, the Parliament was originally an advisory body summoned to consult with the monarch, and the courts exercised delegated royal powers, as “lions beneath the throne”.; Fourth Edition, “The punishment is inflicted, not for the purpose of protecting either the Court as a whole or the individual Judges of the Court from a repetition of the attack, but of protecting the public, and specially those who either voluntarily or by compulsion are subject to the jurisdictionJurisdiction Authority by which courts receive and decide cases. Limited Jurisdiction: the authority over only particular types of cases, or cases under a prescribed amount in controversy, or seeking only certain types of relief, the District Court is a court of limited jurisdiction. Original Jurisdiction: Jurisdiction of the first court to hear a case. of the Court, from the mischief they will incur if the authority of the tribunal is undermined or impaired.”
The above proposition has been approved and followed by Lord Atkin in Andrew Paul Terence Ambrad v. The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, (AIR 1936 PC 141). It was observed as follows:
“No wrong is committed by any member of the public who exercised the ordinary right of criticism in good faithFaith πίστει. in private or public the public act done in the seat of justice. The path of criticism is public way, the wrong-headed are permitted to err therein, provided that members of the public abstain from imputing improper motives to those taking part in the administration of justice and are genuinely exercising a right of criticism and not acting in malice or attempting to impart the administration of Justice, they are immune. Justice is not a cloistered virtue; she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful even though outspoken comments of ordinary men”:
Lord Justice Donovan in Attorney General v. Butterworth: 1963(1) QB 696 after making reference to Req. V. Odham’s Press Ltd ex parte A.G.: 1957(1) QB 73 said: “Whether or not there was an intention to interfere with the administration of justice is relevant to penalty not to quit”. This makes it clear that an intention to interfere with the proper administration of justice is an essential ingredient of the offence of contempt of court and it is enough if the action complained of is inherently likely so to interfere. In Morris v. Crown Office: 1970(1) All E.R. 1079 page 1081, Lord Denning M.R. said: that the course of justice must not be deflected or interfered with. Those who do it strike at the very foundations of our society. In the same case, Lord Justice Solmon spoke:
“The sole purpose of proceedings for contempt1 is to give our courts the power effectively to protect the rights of the public by ensuring that the administration of justice shall not be obstructed or prevented.”
The right to criticize an opinionOpinion A judge's written explanation of a decision of the court. In an appeal, multiple opinions may be written. The court’s ruling comes from a majority of judges and forms the majority opinion. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law on which the decision is based. A concurring opinion agrees with the end result of the court but offers further comment possibly because they disagree with how the court reached its conclusion. of a court, to take issue with it upon its conclusions as to a legal proposition, or question its conception of the facts, so long as such criticisms are made in good faith and are in ordinarily decent and respectful language and are not designed to willfully or maliciously misrepresent the position of the Court, or tend to bring it into disrespect, or lessen the respect due to the authority to which a Court is entitled, cannot be questioned. The right to free speech is one of the greatest guarantee to liberty in a free country like ours, even though that right is frequently and in many instances outrageously abused. If any considerable portion of a community is led to believe that either because of gross ignorance of the law or because of a wrong reason, it cannot rely upon the courts to administer justice that portion of the community, upon some occasion, is very likely to come to the conclusion that it is better not to take any chances on the courts failing to do their duty.
The judiciaryJudiciary The modern justice system has its roots in Henry II's reign, where the assize system and common law were established. Professional judges and magistrates started to emerge in the 13th century, gradually increasing their independence. However, they faced challenges, including political involvement and potential influence by the sovereign. Changes to the judiciary system, such as the establishment of the Court of Chancery in 1830 and the Judicature Act in 1873, merged common law and equity, leading to the creation of the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Crown Court. Despite this evolution, the judiciary's full independence was not officially recognized until the Constitutional Reform Act in 2005. is the bedrock and handmaid of democracyDemocracy It is commonly understood as being a political system of majority rule. The evolution of democratic tradition can be traced back to the Magna Carta (1215) and through the long struggle for Parliamentary supremacy which culminated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the emergence of representative political institutions in the colonial era, the development of responsible government in the 19th century. In institutional terms, democracy means that each of the provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament is elected by popular vote. These legislatures, are "at the core of the system of representative government". It is a 'power' word. Power rests with the ordinary Citizens. Only educated people understand power. A corrupt or controlled court system can cover failure of it. The religious concept is incompatible with it. Promise to spend more from the public treasury moves to Dictatorship.. If people lose faith in justice parted by a Court of law, the entire democraticDemocracy It is commonly understood as being a political system of majority rule. The evolution of democratic tradition can be traced back to the Magna Carta (1215) and through the long struggle for Parliamentary supremacy which culminated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689, the emergence of representative political institutions in the colonial era, the development of responsible government in the 19th century. In institutional terms, democracy means that each of the provincial legislatures and the federal Parliament is elected by popular vote. These legislatures, are "at the core of the system of representative government". It is a 'power' word. Power rests with the ordinary Citizens. Only educated people understand power. A corrupt or controlled court system can cover failure of it. The religious concept is incompatible with it. Promise to spend more from the public treasury moves to Dictatorship. setup would crumble down. In this background, observations of Lord Denning M.R. in Metropolitan Properties Ltd. v. Lennon (1968) 3 All E.R. 304 are relevant: “Justice must be rooted in confidence, and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking – the Judge is based.”