Mehar Bedi & Millia Dasgupta, O.P. Jindal Global University
Without dissent, there is no democracy. Article 19 tries to ensure our right to dissent by granting us the freedom of speech. But due to certain nuances in the article itself, it fails to reach its goal. In this essay, we critique Article 19(2) through the lens of contempt of court and sedition laws.
Contempt of Court
Article 19(2) grants an exception to the State, “Nothing shall prevent the state from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the rights conferred by Article 19 (1) (a) in relation to contempt of court.”1 Articles 129 and 215 give the courts this power of contempt. The basic essence of the term ‘contempt of court’ is anything that provides hindrance with the administration of law in a judicial proceeding. Lord Denning expands on the meaning of this concept in the Morris v Crown Office.
“Of all the places where law and order should be maintained, it is here in these courts. Those who strike at the courts of justice, strike at the very foundations of our society. To maintain law and order, the judges have, and must have, power at once to deal with those who offend against it.”
