Person can't exceed right of freedom of speech & expression to scandalize institution: Supreme Court
New Delhi: Fair criticism of judgement is permissible in law but a person cannot exceed the right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution to scandalize the institution, the Supreme Court said on Monday.
The apex court said that when freedom of speech is sought to be abused and it has the effect of scandalising the institution as a whole and the persons who are part of the said institution cannot defend themselves publicly, the same cannot be permitted in law.
Though there is a freedom of speech, freedom is never absolute because the makers of the Constitution have imposed certain restrictions upon it. Particularly when such freedom of speech is sought to be abused and it has the effect of scandalising the institution as a whole and the persons who are part of the said institution and cannot defend themselves publicly, the same cannot be permitted in law, said a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari.
It said Though a fair criticism of judgment is permissible in law, a person cannot exceed the right under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution to scandalize the institution.
The bench noted that allegations made in the matter were scandalous and were capable of shaking the very edifice of the judicial administration and also shaking the faith of common man in the administration of justice.
The remarks were made by the bench which imposed a nominal fine of Re 1 on activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan in a contempt case in which he was convicted on August 14 for his two derogatory tweets against the judiciary.
It said that argument raised by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who appeared for Bhushan, that free speech is part of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution cannot be disputed.
However, we are not convinced that while exercising power under Article 129 of the Constitution, we are interfering with the rights under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Supreme Court being a court of record can punish for contempt, it said.
The bench said it cannot be disputed that free speech is essential to democracy, but it cannot denigrate one of the institutions of the democracy.
No doubt, one is free to form an opinion and make fair criticism but if such an opinion is scandalous and malicious, the public expression of the same would also be at the risk of the contempt jurisdiction, the bench said in its verdict.
It said rights under Article 19(1) of the Constitution are subject to reasonable restrictions and rights of others cannot be infringed in the process.
However, the members of the public are required to abstain from imputing improper motives to those taking part in the administration of justice. Right to fair criticism is contrasted against acting in malice or attempting to bring down the reputation of the institution of administration of justice, it said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
