Supreme Court stays Calcutta High Court's contempt case against cops over 2019 Howrah court violence

The Supreme Court on June 16 stayed suo motu contempt proceedings initiated by the Calcutta High Court against officials of the West Bengal police in connection with violence that broke out at the Howrah District Court in April 2019 [Vishal Garg & Ors. vs. Registrar General & Ors.]..A Bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan was hearing petitions filed by the police officers and the State of West Bengal challenging a May 2, 2025, order of the High Court..By May 2025 order, the High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the 2019 incident and initiated criminal contempt of court proceedings based on the findings of a one-man inquiry commission..The incident in focus occurred on April 24, 2019, sparked by an altercation over parking between an elderly lawyer and a guard of the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC). Several lawyers gathered on the spot to confront the civic guard, who had allegedly insulted their elderly colleague, leading to the escalation of the altercation.A number of cops are reported to have entered the district court premises and attacked lawyers with sticks and rods. The lawyers are said to have retaliated by pelting the civic staff with stones. Many two-wheelers parked on the HMC premises were damaged.After the police failed to contain the situation, the Rapid Action Force was deployed. When tensions between the two groups flared up again in the evening, police and RAF resorted to lathi charge, leaving at least 20 injured. The High Court eventually took suo motu cognisance of the issue and appointed a one-man commission of inquiry headed by former judge Justice KJ Sengupta, who submitted his report on November 30, 2019..On Monday, the Supreme Court was told that contempt action has now been initiated by the High Court over this incident for the first time, after five years. “After a delay of five years, for the first time, the High Court has purported to exercise its suo motu powers by issuing a contempt notice on 2nd May 2025,” Senior Advocate Chander Uday Singh, representing the police officers, submitted..It was further contended that the limitation bar under Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, applied even to suo motu action by a constitutional court. Singh cited the Supreme Court’s judgment in Maheshwar Peri v. High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (2016) to submit that any contempt action could only be initiated within one year of the incident or within one year of the court being made aware of it.The top court was also informed that the Calcutta High Court had not invoked its contempt jurisdiction in 2019 and had instead registered a suo motu writ petition to examine the wider issue of violence in court premises.“In this case, on 29th April 2019, the High Court entertained a suo motu writ petition consciously. Not a suo motu action under the Contempt of Courts Act but a writ petition to examine the larger issue,” Singh said..Appearing for the High Court, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra countered that the contempt proceedings were within the High Court’s powers and that such action was not barred by limitation. He referred to the 2021 decision in Pallav Seth v. Custodian to support his argument. “The entire case is on Pallav Seth. That issue was already clarified. Limitation does not arise. It’s a suo moto action. It’s a 2021 case,” Luthra submitted..The Supreme Court said the matter required a detailed hearing and posted it for a later date.“This requires hearing. We’ll post it on some other day,” the bench said.It proceeded to stay the contempt proceedings as well. “Issue notice. Returnable in six weeks. In the meantime, further proceedings pursuant to the order dated May 2, 2025 shall remain stayed.”, the Court noted in its order. .The Calcutta High Court, in its May 2025 order, had rejected the argument that its contempt action may be barred by limitation. It held that the one-year limitation period was relevant only when proceedings are initiated based on information received from an individual.It added that the Court's powers under Article 215 of the Constitution to initiate contempt on its own motion could not be curtailed by such a statutory provision on limitation. “Even though the limitation as prescribed in section 20 is contained in a special statute, the powers under Article 215 where the Court had initiated suo motu writ petition taking note of an untoward incident cannot be abrogated or stultified, particularly in view of the inherent power available to the Court under Article 215,” the High Court had said..The petitions challenging this High Court order will be heard next by the Supreme Court on July 29, 2025. .[Read Order]