Courts must not be hypersensitive or swung by emotions while exercising contempt jurisdiction: SC
New Delhi, Jul 30: Courts must not be hypersensitive or swung by emotions while exercising contempt jurisdiction, the Supreme Court has said.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sanjay Karol made the observation while setting aside a Calcutta High Court order that had revoked a doctor's license for contempt of court.
"The Court has time and again asserted that the contempt jurisdiction enjoyed by the Courts is only for the purpose of upholding the majority of the judicial system that exists.
"While exercising this power, the Courts must not be hypersensitive or swung by emotions but must act judiciously," the SC said.
The bench said the doctor's license cannot be suspended as penalty in contempt proceedings.
"A medical practitioner guilty of contempt of court may also be so for professional misconduct but the same would depend on the gravity/nature of the contemptuous conduct of the person in question.
"They are, however, offences separate and distinct from each other. The former is regulated by the Contempt of Court Act, 1971 and the latter is under the jurisdiction of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019," the bench said.
The top court was hearing a plea challenging the judgement of a division bench of the Calcutta High Court which upheld various orders of a single bench.
The single bench had suspended the appellant's medical license as penalty in the contempt proceedings initiated against him for failure to remove an unauthorised construction.
The top court noted that the doctor has carried out the requisite demolition with the exception of approximately 250 mm in the rear portion as it would render the building, legally constructed, unsafe.
"In respect of the unauthorised construction that remains, we direct that an undertaking be furnished before the concerned High Court that remedial construction to safeguard the soundness of the existing building and the consequent demolishing of the unauthorised construction shall be completed within a reasonable time," the bench said.
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Blast at railway track in Patiala was attempted detonation, killed operator: Punjab Police
Chandigarh (PTI): A blast that took place at a railway track near the Shambhu area in Punjab's Patiala was an attempted detonation, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.
The person who was trying to carry out the detonation on Monday has died, Patiala SSP Varun Sharma said.
The blast took place near the Shambhu-Ambala rail track. Police earlier said that an unidentified body, which was blown into pieces, was recovered from the spot.
Initially, it was considered a low-intensity blast. However, investigation has revealed that it was an attempted detonation.
The explosion occurred at around 10 pm at the rail track dedicated for freight trains, police said.
The explosion also caused some damage to the track.
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"Late night, we had received information about a low intensity explosion at a railway track near Shambhu-Haryana border. Immediately, I, along with the deputy inspector general of police and other senior officials, rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.
"We found that it was not a low intensity explosion but an attempted detonation," the SSP said.
During the attempt, the person who was trying to carry out the detonation died, and his body has been recovered, he said.
Police said they have recovered a SIM card from the spot.
"After getting whatever scientific evidence including a SIM card from the spot, police have launched technical investigation," Sharma said.
"We expect that we will soon unravel the whole conspiracy," he said.
He further said the Government Railway Police, the Railway Protection Force and other agencies are involved in investigation.
Earlier in January, a blast on a dedicated freight corridor railway track in the Fatehgarh Sahib district's Sirhind had damaged the engine of a train and left a loco pilot injured.
