Kerala HC asks 28 lawyers to provide legal assistance

The Kerala High Court has ordered 28 lawyers of the Kottayam Bar Association to provide legal aid for six months. The move is aimed at clearing the contempt of court charges against them, after they tendered an unconditional apology.
The court had initiated suo moto contempt proceedings against these lawyers for protesting and allegedly using insulting language against a woman Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Kottayam. A bench comprising Justice P B Suresh Kumar and Justice C Pratheep Kumar observed that tendering an apology was not sufficient and directed the lawyers to provide legal aid.
“We deem it fit to accept the unconditional apology of respondents 2 to 29 and expunge the contempt committed by them on the basis of an undertaking that they will offer their services to the District Legal Services Authority, Kottayam for free legal aid to the poor and needy, for a period of six months from today,” the court observed.
After the preliminary hearing, the court found a prima facie case of criminal contempt against the lawyers. They had raised insulting slogans and made derogatory remarks against the CJM both inside and outside the courtroom, thereby disrupting the ongoing trial. Accordingly, the court issued a notice to the lawyers, who subsequently tendered their unconditional apology under Rule 14(a) of the Contempt of Courts (High Court of Kerala) Rules.
The division bench further held that the contempt proceedings could not be closed merely on the basis of their unconditional apology. Therefore, the court found it fit to direct the advocates to provide legal assistance through the Kottayam District Legal Services Authority. The court further asked the District Legal Services Authority to maintain a record of the cases assigned to the advocates and file a compliance report with the court.