Kerala High Court sentenced PK Suresh Kumar to 3 days in jail for defamatory posts against judges. The Court held his allegations as a serious attack on judicial integrity and independence.
Kochi: Today, on July 16, the Kerala High Court sentenced a man named PK Suresh Kumar, a resident of Ernakulam, to three days in jail for making several defamatory posts on Facebook targeting judges of the High Court.
These posts included serious allegations against judges and claimed that one of them was working under the influence of political groups like the Sangh Parivar. The Court took this matter very seriously and started a suo motu (on its own) criminal contempt case against Kumar.
A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice Jobin Sebastian found Kumar guilty of criminal contempt under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
The Court observed that his repeated online statements were not just critical opinions but malicious and deliberate attacks meant to scandalise the judiciary and damage the public’s trust in the courts.
According to the Court,
“The posts, taken as a whole, are clearly intended to undermine public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of this Court. The insinuation that judgments were rendered at the behest of politically aligned advocates, for the personal advancement of Judges, attributes nothing short of judicial dishonesty and improper motives on the part of the judges of this Court. Such content is likely to deter litigants from trusting the judicial process and will most certainly impair Judges in the discharge of their constitutional duties.”
The Court also noted that this was not Kumar’s first incident involving contempt of court. Earlier in 2024, he had made similar accusations against the judiciary on an online news portal.
At that time, he had apologised unconditionally. However, soon after, he once again posted defamatory content on Facebook.
In one post dated March 11, 2024, he alleged that judges on the Devaswom Bench, especially Justice Anil K Narendran, were influenced by ‘Sangh Parivar’ groups and were delivering favourable judgments to gain political support for elevation to the Supreme Court.
In another post dated March 17, 2024, he referred to Justice Devan Ramachandran’s courtroom remarks as “verbal diarrhoea”.
ALSO READ: Suo Moto Cases At An All-Time High: Supreme Court Review 2024
The Court held that these comments were not just random angry words but were part of a consistent effort to damage the reputation of the judiciary.
Kumar tried to defend himself by saying he was going through personal anguish and that he had the right to express his opinions under free speech. He also claimed that other people might have accessed his Facebook account and published those posts.
However, the Court firmly rejected his argument, stating that he had earlier admitted in his counter affidavit that the posts were his, and technical evidence also confirmed that they were uploaded from his account.
The Court said,
“The shoulders of the Court are broad enough to shrug off certain comments and there cannot be any dispute on the same. While fair and temperate criticism is protected, criticism based on distortion, falsehood, and aimed at vilifying the institution cannot be countenanced.”
After declaring him guilty, the Court gave Kumar a chance to present reasons for leniency. He told the Court that he has a wife and two children and asked for a lighter sentence.
However, due to the seriousness of the allegations and the fact that this was a repeated offence, the Court refused to suspend his sentence.
The Court then directed the Registrar General to issue a warrant for Kumar’s arrest and detention. Advocate Dheerendra Krishnan KK was appointed as the prosecutor in the case by the Court.
Case Title:
Suo Motu v PK Suresh Kumar
Read Judgement:
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Suo Moto
