The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office bearers on a petition seeking contempt of court action over an objectionable social media post against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, observing that the “independence of the judiciary” was not a matter of “political convenience”.
The KPCC appeared through its lawyer and informed the bench that the post was published by a person in the media wing without the approval of KPCC president Sunny Joseph. The post was soon deleted, the person was removed, and an unconditional apology was issued by the committee. He pointed out that such a post by a political party could undermine public confidence in the institution. The court was also inclined to appoint an amicus curiae, while indicating the names of senior advocates Arvind Datar and Siddharth Agarwal. The two associations issued resolutions stating that such a statement bordered on contempt as it undermined public confidence in the judiciary and amounted to interference in the administration of justice. “Legitimate criticism must be distinguished from conduct that may undermine the authority of the court or interfere with the administration of justice. Freedom of expression can’t be a shield of intimidation to interfere with the administration of justice. Howsoever high position a person occupies, any attempt to undermine the authority of the court needs to be dealt with an iron hand.”
The bench of justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi said it would examine whether the deleted post, published by the party’s official X account, amounted to contempt of court and issued notice on the petition filed by advocate Vineet Jindal, who sought suo motu contempt action over the post published by INC Keralam on October 12. Jindal said that the post was viewed by more than 10 million people, causing widespread damage to the reputation and authority of the judiciary. Following this, SCBA joint secretary Meneesh Dubey issued a legal notice to KPCC president Sunny Joseph on October 16, seeking a response to the post.
The bench said, “Only the Constitution is supreme. No individual or political organisation stands above it,” as it emphasised that the authority of the court rests on the rule of law and does not require “political endorsement”. “Any attempt to undermine it needs to be dealt with an iron hand,” the court held. The bench said, “Our judgments are always open to criticism, but freedom of expression cannot be a shield for intimidation or interference with the administration of justice. The court said it would examine whether the material amounted to contempt of court and sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani. The distinction must be assessed in the light of the language used, its context, the circumstances of publication and its actual or reasonably apprehended effect,” he further said. Earlier reporting noted: SC issues notice to all office bearers of Keralam unit of Congress over post targeting CJI Surya Kant Observing that independence of the judiciary is not a matter of “political convenience”, the Supreme Court on Friday (November 6, 2026) issued a contempt notice to all office bearers of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee over a social media post targeting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. Pancholi said that the Constitution is supreme and no individual or political organisation stands above it.
Earlier reporting noted: A bench of justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M. Earlier reporting noted: “Judgments are always open to criticism.
