The Supreme Court has underscored that the power to punish for contempt is not a tool to silence critics or shield judges from scrutiny, declaring that contempt jurisdiction must never become a personal armour for the judiciary. Emphasising that the authority to punish necessarily carries the power to forgive, the Court said mercy must remain central to the judicial conscience when a contemnor shows genuine remorse.

"The power to punish necessarily carries within it the concomitant power to forgive, where the individual before the Court demonstrates genuine remorse and repentance for the act that has brought him to this position. Therefore, in exercise of contempt jurisdiction, Courts must remain conscious that this power is not a personal armour for Judges, nor a sword to silence critici

See Full Page