Kerala HC Jails Man for Contempt Over Posts Alleging Sangh Parivar Influence on Judges

The Kerala High Court has sentenced a man to three days simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2,000 for criminal contempt after finding him guilty of publishing a series of Facebook posts scandalising sitting judges of the court, including allegations of Sangh Parivar influence and political motivations behind judicial orders.

The judgment, delivered on July 16, 2025, by a Division Bench comprising Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Jobin Sebastian, found that the respondent had made deliberate, malicious, and defamatory posts from his Facebook profile targeting judges of the Kerala High Court, particularly those on the Devaswom Bench.

Among the most serious allegations made in these posts was that judges were issuing orders “to please external forces,” and that lawyers affiliated with the Sangh Parivar routinely visited their chambers to secure favourable judgments. The respondent also claimed that one judge acted with the intent of currying favour with the Union Government to secure elevation to the Supreme Court.

In another post, the contemnor called oral remarks made by a judge during a court hearing “verbal diarrhoea,” accusing the judge of delivering decisions under political pressure and in support of central agencies probing a state minister.

These posts, the Court found, were not mere expressions of dissent or fair criticism. Citing established principles, it held:

“The posts, taken as a whole, are clearly intended to undermine public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of this Court.”

The judgment observed that even after the Court had previously discharged the same respondent in an earlier contempt case, upon his unconditional apology, he returned to Facebook to publish fresh allegations. In fact, the very first post in the second round openly admitted that his earlier apology was a calculated strategy to avoid punishment.

In his defence, the respondent claimed that his actions were protected under right to free speech and that the posts were grounded in truth or based on media reports.

However, the Court noted that he failed to substantiate any of his serious allegations during evidence and even attempted to backtrack by disowning authorship of the posts, a contradiction the bench described as prevaricating and lacking candour.

Citing judgments from Het Ram Beniwal, P.N. Duda, D.C. Saxena, amongst others, Court reaffirmed that personal attacks and imputing improper motives to judges fall outside the ambit of protected speech and amount to criminal contempt.

“Scandalising the court, whether through defamatory posts, reckless allegations, or vilification, taints the very fountain of justice and must be sternly dealt with,” the bench observed.

Rejecting the plea for leniency, the Court also denied the respondent’s request to suspend the sentence for a day.

“Taking into account the totality of circumstances… we are not inclined to exercise the discretion to suspend the sentence,” the Court held, directing immediate execution of the sentence.

The Registrar General was directed to issue a warrant to ensure Suresh Kumar's detention and compliance with the sentence.

Case Title: Suo Motu, High Court of Kerala v. P.K. Suresh Kumar

Judgment Date: July 16, 2025

Bench: Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice Jobin Sebastian