Contrasting Free Speech with Contempt of Court
Pratheek Maddhi Reddy · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2016
The constitution of India provides Freedom of speech and expression vide Article 19(1)(a), right to a freedom which in many an opinion, precedes all other freedoms, and is a bulwark of a healthy, progressive and democratic society. But it does not mean the right to say whatever, whenever and wherever one likes. A freedom of such amplitude involves risks of abuse, one of which, according to 19(2), is ‘contempt of court’. In light of Arundhati Roy’s article titled, “Professor P.W.O.”, this paper would like to draw a contrast between the freedom and the restriction and finally present the fallacious nature of its usage by the Indian Supreme Court.