HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA Vs. S VENKANNA RAO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an unfortunate case, wherein the misery of a poor litigant, expressed by him on account of the long delay in disposal of the case, has been erroneously looked as contempt of Court by the Learned subordinate Judge, at whose instance, this suo moto proceedings have been initiated by the Registry and placed before us for consideration.

(2.) THE alleged accused/respondent Sri S. Venkanna Rao, has filed a Private Complaint in the Court of IV Addl. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bangalore which is registered in CC No. 23638/2006. According to the Learned Magistrate, who has complained to the High Court that, the letter of the accused written to him on 26.08.2008 is contemptuous, which reads as follows:

(3.) IN that case, the Apex Court was considering whether the speech made by the then Law Minister was contemptuous and as such, any action should be initiated against him under die provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act. The Apex Court has observed that: Speech delivered by the Law Minister in a seminar organised by Bar Council expressing his critical views in respect of the Apex Court, held on facts, though at places intemperate, but reading the speech as a whole and having regard to the select audience, it did not constitute any contempt of Supreme Court In the present case also, similar is the situation. As already noted, as a senior citizen, being dissatisfied by the long delay of proceeding, has written letter to the Learned Magistrate to take up the case at the earliest. Even if some portion there of appeared to be objectionable, as per the definition of criminal contempt, defined under Section 2(c) of the Act, in our considered view, the matter does not amount to scandalizing or tending to scandalize or lowering the authority of any Court or causing disrepute to the due course of any judicial proceeding or affecting the administration of justice.