Jodhpur: Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a contempt petition filed by an additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) against seven police personnel, ruling that statements made in a case diary during an official investigation do not constitute criminal contempt.“Let me say at once that we will never use this jurisdiction as a means to uphold our own dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticism, nor do we resent it, for there is something far more important at stake: it is no less than freedom of speech itself,” the court observed. A division bench of Justice Farjand Ali and Justice Yogendra Kumar Purohit, in a reportable judgment delivered on March 23, discharged the seven policemen — including an additional SP (ASP) and a SHO — from contempt proceedings. The case dates back to July 2019 and stems from an FIR registered at Mandalgarh police station in Bhilwara district involving serious penal charges. During the investigation, statements of police officials were recorded in the case diary by a senior officer in compliance with court directions. These statements included remarks on the conduct of the ACJM (Mandalgarh), with officials alleging discourteous behaviour and suggesting the officer appeared personally aggrieved. Taking exception, the judicial officer treated the remarks as an affront to the dignity of the institution and referred the matter to the high court for initiation of contempt proceedings. Rejecting the plea, the bench held that the essential ingredients of criminal contempt were not made out. It emphasised that contempt requires a real tendency or intent to interfere with the administration of justice or to lower the authority of the court. Statements recorded as part of an official inquiry, without publication or intent to scandalise the court, would not attract contempt jurisdiction.
