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Single Judge Bench Can Take Cognizance And Decide Civil Contempt Petitions: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has held that a Single Judge Bench can take cognizance and decide civil contempt petition.The Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly struck down Rule 6 of the Contempt of Courts (High Court of Kerala) Rules as ultra vires to the Constitution of India and Section 19(1) of the Contempt of Courts Act. Rule 6 provided that a Division Bench alone can take cognizance of the contempt proceedings and that if and when, a prima facie case is found out, the contempt petition has to be referred to a Bench of two Judges. The court said that the Rule indirectly takes away the statutory right of an appeal available to an aggrieved person against an order or decision, which requires to be passed by a learned Single Judge and thereby, deprives the statutory right of an appeal under Section 19(1) of the Contempt of Courts Act.


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