Supreme Court Registers Lawyer’s Letter as Writ Petition Seeking Contempt Action Against Kerala Congress Over Post on CJI.
CJI Surya Kant.
The Supreme Court has registered a letter written by advocate Vineet Jindal seeking contempt of court action against the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) over a controversial social media post targeting Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant as a civil writ petition.
The letter, addressed to the CJI on October 13, was registered on October 30 and is yet to be listed for hearing before a Bench.
The controversy arose after a post appeared on the official X account of Congress Kerala on October 12, addressing the Chief Justice and stating: “Dear Surya Kant, If law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it.”
The post was subsequently deleted.
Lawyer seeks examination under contempt law
In his letter, Jindal argued that the office of the CJI cannot be treated as an institution whose continuance depends on the approval or displeasure of a political organisation.
He urged the Supreme Court to examine whether the social media post crossed the limits of permissible political criticism and warranted consideration under the law relating to criminal contempt of court.
The letter also raised concerns about a political demonstration near the Supreme Court premises on October 12, reportedly involving Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders.
Jindal sought an inquiry into whether any restricted area had been entered without authorisation or whether security protocols had been violated.
However, he clarified that peaceful demonstrations, political slogans at lawful locations or the presence of political leaders near the Supreme Court would not, by themselves, constitute contempt of court or establish any offence.
He also requested the preservation of CCTV footage, access-control logs and security deployment records to ensure that any inquiry was based on verifiable evidence rather than unsubstantiated claims.
Kerala Congress tenders unconditional apology
The development comes after the KPCC tendered an unconditional apology to the CJI.
In its October 22 response to a legal notice issued by Supreme Court Bar Association Joint Secretary Meenesh Dubey, KPCC President Sunny Joseph stated that the controversial post had been published by party worker Vijay Thottathil without the knowledge, consent or consultation of the party leadership.
The party also stated that Thottathil had been removed from his position.
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aEarlier Supreme Court proceedings
Separately, on October 15, a Bench comprising CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders on a petition filed by four lawyers concerning the October 12 demonstration.
That petition also sought contempt action over the Kerala Congress social media post. However, the Bench declined to issue notice on that particular prayer at the time.
“No contempt today. We are only issuing notice. Let us see what the response is, and then we will take it forward,” the CJI had observed.
With Jindal’s letter now registered as a separate writ petition, the matter awaits listing before the Supreme Court. The registration of the petition does not, by itself, amount to a judicial finding of contempt.
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