Supreme Court takes contempt action over Congress post targeting CJI

The Supreme Court issued a contempt notice to all office-bearers of the Congress in Keralam over an X post targeting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, stressing that judicial independence cannot be treated as a matter of political convenience alone

New Delhi: Observing that the independence of the judiciary is not a matter of “political convenience”, the Supreme Court on Friday issued contempt notices to all office-bearers of the Keralam unit of the Congress over a social media post targeting Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi said the Constitution is supreme and no individual or political organisation stands above it.

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“Judgments are always open to criticism. Freedom of expression cannot be a shield for intimidation or interference with the administration of justice. Howsoever high a position a person occupies, any attempt to undermine the authority of the court needs to be dealt with an iron hand.

“Authority of the court does not require political endorsement; it rests on the rule of law. Where the administration of justice is established, the law must take its course,” the Bench said.

The court said the independence of the judiciary is not a matter of political convenience, adding that judicial restraint must never be mistaken for institutional weakness.

During the hearing, the lawyer appearing for the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) submitted that the material had been uploaded without the office-bearers’ approval and was subsequently removed.

He told the court that an unconditional apology had also been issued.

Justice Kumar observed that the court would examine “whether it has come from the pen or heart”.

The Supreme Court also said it would appoint senior advocates Arvind Datar and Siddharth Agarwal as amici curiae in the matter to examine whether criminal or civil contempt provisions apply. It also sought the assistance of Attorney General R Venkataramani.

A post targeting the CJI from the official X account of the Keralam unit of the Congress went viral on October 12, drawing sharp criticism on social media before it was deleted. The party subsequently said that it had removed the person responsible for the post.

A complaint addressed to the CJI by advocate Vineet Jindal on October 13 was registered as a writ petition on October 30.

The complaint also sought directions to the authorities to ascertain whether a political demonstration and slogan-shouting held on the Supreme Court premises on the evening of October 12, 2026, involving Rahul Gandhi and other political leaders, took place without authorisation or caused any obstruction to the movement of advocates, litigants, judicial officers or court staff.

In a statement, KPCC president Sunny Joseph had earlier said that the person responsible for posting the controversial message had been removed from the post.

Joseph said the post was made without the knowledge, consent or consultation of the KPCC leadership.

He clarified that the Congress had no disagreement with regard to the impartiality of the judiciary.