The Kerala Judicial Officers Association has approached the Kerala High Court to initiate contempt proceedings against those who publicly maligned the Chief Justice of the Ernakulam District and Sessions Court who delivered the verdict in the 2017 actor rape case.
The Supreme Court will initiate appropriate measures to preserve the dignity of members of the judiciary, order offenders and social media platforms to delete harmful and defamatory content and to prevent social media platforms from displaying material containing such content.
In its representation, the association sought to protect the independence of the judiciary and ensure adequate protection of court officials from such public vilification and scandalization. Some media houses and self-interested individuals started spreading baseless allegations after she delivered the verdict in the case, while several leading Malayalam dailies published news of the verdict on their front pages along with a photo of the judge in violation of the apex court’s directions, he noted.
The association also named several actors, lawyers, journalists and dubbing artists for making aggressive and derogatory comments. Some of the advocates’ comments were disparaging and disrespectful to lawyers who are governed by the Advocates Act.
The statements of some individuals amounted to criminal contempt made with intentions of ignorance. Opponents, who published allegations of a criminal nature against the female judge on platforms available worldwide, have lowered the authority of the judiciary in the eyes of the public and created criminal contempt, noted T. Madhusoodanan, president of the association.
The representation noted that the videos and articles circulated through social media platforms contained wild, defamatory and scandalous allegations against the judicial officer. Knowing that such materials are intended to undermine public confidence in the judiciary by scandalizing judges in the eyes of the public and amounting to criminal contempt of court under Section 2 letter (c) of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, the authority requested the High Court to intervene urgently in the matter.
Published – 15 Dec 2025 22:10 IST
