Recently a Contempt proceeding is initiated against well-known Advocate Shri Prashant Bhusan in respect of his tweet and it is good to know that influential and powerful dignitaries had shown their solidarity with him, including former Judge of the Supreme Court and a Delhi High Court.

Unfortunately, the same solidarity was never shown by any known personality when lesser-known Advocate Shri Mathew Nedumpara was punished by Hon'ble High Court on the basis of concocted facts and Hon'ble Supreme Court through the contempt proceeding and was banned from practising for one year despite tendering unconditional apology. It is pertinent to point out that Shri Nedumpara is a firebrand activist lawyer, who has been a relentlessly and selflessly fighting for transparency and judicial accountability for the last fifteen years. In the end, he became a victim of his own relentless and selfless services.

The Principle that criticism of judiciary should not be stifled by the indiscriminate use of the power of contempt has been recognised by the Hon'ble Supreme Court as well as academicians and advocates of repute.

Therefore, we hope and pray that the Hon'ble Supreme Court arise above its Status Quo and admit that contempt jurisdiction is misused and deserve to be reviewed in general and in particular in the case of Shri Nedumpara and that it is about time that contempt act is either substantially amended or completely abolished.