A Delhi government law officer has granted consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) legal head Ratna Singh in the Delhi high court over her objectionable remarks about a Saket judge.
“A clear distinction exists between questioning the correctness of a judicial decision and attributing extraneous influences or improper motives to the Judicial Officer responsible for rendering such decision. Proceedings for criminal contempt of a subordinate court should have the consent of the designated law officer before the proceedings can be initiated before the high court, according to Section 15 (2) of the Contempt of Courts Act.
In a November 2 communication to advocate Kaushik Chatterjee, the city government’s additional standing counsel, Amol Sinha, said Singh’s social media posts, flagged by the lawyer, “questioned the independence and impartiality of the judicial officer” and were “capable of undermining public confidence in the administration of justice”. Kaushik Chatterjee’s representation said following the court’s decision, Singh made allegations concerning the conduct of the magistrate during the proceedings. “The present opinion is confined to the prima facie nature of the allegations and shall not be construed as a final determination of criminal contempt, which shall remain subject to the independent consideration of the Hon’ble High Court,” Sinha said. In his communication conveying consent, Sinha said there was a difference between fair criticism of judicial orders and allegations about a judge’s independence. Sinha said the statements went beyond criticism of the judicial order and suggested that the judge was acting on instructions from an external authority rather than exercising independent judicial discretion. “Such imputations, in my opinion, strike at the independence and impartiality of the judicial process,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: Delhi govt counsel gives consent for criminal contempt proceedings against CJP leader Ratna Singh over ‘serving the master’ posts targeting Saket judge Delhi government’s Additional Standing Counsel has approved steps to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Ratna Singh Earlier reporting noted: NEW DELHI: The Delhi government’s Additional Standing Counsel (Criminal) has given consent to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Ratna Singh over her social media posts allegedly accusing a judicial officer of acting on the instructions of an unidentified “master”. Earlier reporting noted: The counsel said the allegations prima facie raised concerns about the independence and impartiality of the judicial process and provided sufficient grounds to invoke the criminal contempt jurisdiction of the Delhi High Court .
