SC Drops Contempt Proceedings Against Katju After Accepting His Apology [Read Order]

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the Supreme Court today dropped the contempt proceedings against former Supreme Court judge Justice Markandeya Katju pertaining to certain blogs he had written against the bench in sensational Soumya case after accepting his unconditional apology.

At the outset Rajeev Dhavan, senior lawyer representing Katju drew the attention of bench of Justice Gogoi and Justice U U Lalit to Katju's apology affidavit.

"Justice Katju has filed an affidavit tendering unconditional apology and also deleted the blogs and facebook posts..he also says that he has always and also continue to respect judiciary as an institution"

After Dhavan's submission justice Gogoi dictated the following order: "in view of the apology tendered we close the case".

On November 11, the very same apex court, where he held sway as a popular judge for five years between 2006 and 2011 issued contempt of court notice to him for his Facebook blogs against its sitting judges.

This was the first time in the judicial history when a former Judge of SC faces contempt charge in apex court.

Justice Katju had come to the court on an invite from the Bench to debate the several "fundamental flaws" and “grievous errors” he claimed Justice Ranjan Gogoi-led bench (which issued the contempt notice) had committed by sparing a death row convict the noose in the sensational Soumya murder and rape case of Kerala.

Read the order here.

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