The Law of Contempt-Contempt of Courts and Legislatures

Author: Samaraditya Pal
Year: 2012

"Ever since its first publication in 1992, this books has been widely appreciated by all who are interested in the subject. The present new revised Fifth Edition 2012 covers a wider territory. Apart from the courts, it now examines contempt of legislatures and tribunals. The presentation is in four parts. Part-1deals with the constitutional provisions. Part-2 contains the commentaries on the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, Part-3 is a brief overview of the contempt powers of the Tribunals. And Part-4 traces the elements of contempt jurisdiction of the legislatures. The law of contempt continues to have high contemporary relevance. It plays a vital role in the orderly and fair administration of justice and arms the legislatures to enforce discipline and ensure uninterfered progress of their proceedings. In the ultimate analysis, it is an indispensable aid in the constitutional functioning of our basic democratic institutions. Some Reviews........ .....It is most useful and informative and will be a valuable addition to my library. N.A. Palkhivala .....Samaraditya Pal has collated case law not just from India but from all relevant jurisdictions and analysed it with discernment and insight. The chapters on legislative history and genesis of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 as well as those on innocent publication and fair reporting of judicial proceedings will be of interest to lay readers as well as practicing lawyers. The discussion on pre-judgement of proceedings is also very interesting especially the thalidomide case where each court took a different view upon whether the article published by the Sunday Times amounted to contempt. ....In essence.... the commentary is lucid and concise and will be of assistance to all those who are concerned with the administration of justice. The Financial Express"".....the author has dealt with this subject as precisely as possible....He has explained the principles underlying the statutory provisions as judicially explained in the leading cases and the application of those principles in other illustrative cases. The author has quoted extensively from many judgments of the leading cases, and culled the principles that are laid down...The historical background has been also given in the Appendix of the book. A very useful book for the professional lawyers. All India Reporter .....The exhaustive commentary of the Contempt of Courts Act.... as made by Pal.... has touched on various aspects of the offence..... The book is likely to be useful to law students, lawyers, journalists and publishers. The Sunday Times of India .....Although the book is smaller in size than any other book, it is the best book in recent times on the subject. Samaraditya has shown how to explain a complicated topic of law in simple and easy style. Aajkaal"