Appeals in Contempt: Section 19, and Sections 21 to 24

Section 19(3) and (4): the High Court's power, and time

Section 19(3): where a person aggrieved by an appealable order satisfies the High Court that he intends to prefer an appeal, the High Court may also exercise all or any of the powers in sub-section (2). So the relief in (2) can be got from the court below while the appeal is being prepared, which is the same idea as section 40(2) of the Advocates Act.

Section 19(4): an appeal shall be filed:

• (a) in the case of an appeal to a Bench of the High Court, within thirty days;
• (b) in the case of an appeal to the Supreme Court, within sixty days,

from the date of the order appealed against.

Note that the period runs from the date of the order, not from communication, unlike sections 37 and 38 of the Advocates Act. That contrast is worth remembering because the two Acts are examined together in this subject.

The remaining sections of the Act

The rest of the Act is short, and this is where it is accounted for so that no live section is left unmentioned.

Section 21: "Nothing contained in this Act shall apply in relation to contempt of Nyaya Panchayats or other village courts, by whatever name known, for the administration of justice, established under any law."

Village courts established under State laws are outside the Act altogether. Their position is governed by the statutes that create them.

Section 22: "The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of any other law relating to contempt of courts."

Dealt with in chapter [What Contempt of Court Is, and Where the Power Comes From]. It is the section that confirms the Act does not occupy the field to the exclusion of the inherent power.

Section 23: "The Supreme Court or, as the case may be, any High Court, may make rules, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, providing for any matter relating to its procedure."

Each court's contempt rules are made under this section.

Section 24: "The Contempt of Courts Act, 1952 (32 of 1952), is hereby repealed."

The 1971 Act replaced the 1952 Act, which had itself replaced the Act of 1926.

The whole Act in one table

Because MU's topic is "the Contempt Law and Practice" and because the Act is short, it is worth being able to place every section.

A worked example

A single judge of a High Court convicts Mr Sinha of criminal contempt and sentences him to two months' simple imprisonment, by an order dated 10 March.

Is there an appeal? Yes, as of right under section 19(1)(a), to a Bench of not less than two judges of the same High Court, because the order was that of a single judge. No leave is required.

Wait. Was the trial itself valid? Section 18(1) requires every case of criminal contempt under section 15 to be heard by a Bench of not less than two judges. If this was a section 15 proceeding, a single judge could not hear it. If it was contempt in the face of the court under section 14, section 18 does not apply and a single judge could.

By when must he appeal? Within thirty days from the date of the order, that is from 10 March, under section 19(4)(a).

He is in custody. What can be done meanwhile? The appellate Court may, under section 19(2), suspend execution of the punishment, release him on bail, and hear the appeal though he has not purged his contempt. And before the appeal is filed, the High Court itself may exercise those powers under section 19(3) if he satisfies it that he intends to appeal.

The Bench dismisses the appeal. He may appeal to the Supreme Court under section 19(1)(b), because the order is now that of a Bench, within sixty days from its date under section 19(4)(b).

Change the court. Suppose the contempt was of a Nyaya Panchayat. Section 21: the Act does not apply at all to contempt of Nyaya Panchayats or other village courts for the administration of justice established under any law.

Change it again. Suppose the original order had been made by the Supreme Court in its own contempt jurisdiction. Section 19 gives no appeal, because it speaks of an order of the High Court.

What beginners get wrong

The appeal is as of right. No leave.

The forum depends on who decided, not on the punishment.

Time runs from the date of the order, unlike sections 37 and 38 of the Advocates Act.

Thirty days to a Bench, sixty to the Supreme Court.

Purging is not a precondition to being heard, by section 19(2)(c).

There is no section 19 appeal from the Supreme Court's own order.

Nyaya Panchayats are outside the Act by section 21.

Quick revision

• Section 19(1): an appeal lies as of right from any order or decision of a High Court in its contempt jurisdiction: (a) from a single judge, to a Bench of not less than two judges; (b) from a Bench, to the Supreme Court. Proviso: from a Judicial Commissioner's Court, to the Supreme Court.
• Section 19(2): pending appeal the appellate Court may suspend execution, grant bail, and hear the appeal notwithstanding that the appellant has not purged his contempt.
• Section 19(3): the High Court may exercise those powers where the person satisfies it that he intends to appeal.
• Section 19(4): thirty days for an appeal to a Bench, sixty days to the Supreme Court, from the date of the order.
• Section 21: the Act does not apply to contempt of Nyaya Panchayats or other village courts.
• Section 22: in addition to and not in derogation of other law on contempt.
• Section 23: the Supreme Court and High Courts may make procedural rules not inconsistent with the Act.
• Section 24: repeals the Contempt of Courts Act 1952.

Test yourself

1. To whom does an appeal lie from a contempt order of a single judge of a High Court, and in what time? To a Bench of not less than two judges of the same High Court, as of right under section 19(1)(a), within thirty days from the date of the order under section 19(4)(a).

2. And from a Bench? To the Supreme Court under section 19(1)(b), within sixty days from the date of the order under section 19(4)(b).

3. Must a contemnor purge his contempt before his appeal is heard? No. Section 19(2)(c) empowers the appellate Court to order that the appeal be heard notwithstanding that the appellant has not purged his contempt.

4. What relief can be obtained before the appeal is even filed? Under section 19(3), where a person aggrieved satisfies the High Court that he intends to prefer an appeal, the High Court may exercise all or any of the powers in section 19(2), that is suspension of execution, bail, and hearing despite the contempt not being purged.

5. Does section 19 give an appeal from a contempt order of the Supreme Court? No. Section 19 speaks of an order or decision of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction to punish for contempt.

6. Does the Act apply to Nyaya Panchayats? No. Section 21 provides that nothing in the Act applies in relation to contempt of Nyaya Panchayats or other village courts, by whatever name known, for the administration of justice, established under any law.

7. From what date does the appeal period run under this Act, and how does that differ from the Advocates Act? From the date of the order appealed against, under section 19(4). Under sections 37 and 38 of the Advocates Act the sixty days run from the date on which the order was communicated to the appellant.