The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971

(1) This Act may be called the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. (2) It extends to the whole of India: 1* * * * *

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, (a) "contempt of court" means civil contempt or criminal contempt; (b) "civil contempt" means wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ orother process of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court; (c) "criminal contempt" means the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs,or by visible representations, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoeverwhich (i) scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, anycourt; or (ii) prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicialproceeding; or (iii) interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration ofjustice in any other manner; (d) "High Court" means the High Court for a State or a Union territory, and includes the court ofthe Judicial Commissioner in any Union territory.

(1) A person shall not be guiltyof contempt of court on the ground that he has published (whether by words, spoken or written, or bysigns, or by visible representations, or otherwise) any matter which interferes or tends to interfere with, orobstructs or tends to obstruct, the course of justice in connection with any civil or criminal proceedingpending at that time of publication, if at that time he had no reasonable grounds for believing that theproceeding was pending. (2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or any other law for the time beingin force, the publication of any such matter as is mentioned in sub-section (1) in connection with any civilor criminal proceeding which is not pending at the time of publication shall not be deemed to constitutecontempt of court. (3) A person shall not be guilty of contempt of court on the ground that he has distributed apublication containing any such matter as is mentioned in sub-section (1), if at the time of distribution hehad no reasonable grounds for believing that it contained or was likely to contain any such matter asaforesaid: Provided that this sub-section shall not apply in respect of the distribution of (i) any publication which is a book or paper printed or published otherwise than in conformitywith the rules contained in section 3 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867); (ii) any publication which is a newspaper published otherwise than in conformity with the rulescontained in section 5 of the said Act. Explanation.For the purposes of this section, a judicial proceeding (a) is said to be pending (A) in the case of a civil proceeding, when it is instituted by the filing of a plaint or otherwise, (B) in the case of a criminal proceeding under the Code of CriminalProcedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), or any other law (i) where it relates to the commission of an offence, when the charge-sheet or challan isfiled, or when the court issues summons or warrant, as the case may be, against the accused,and (ii) in any other case, when the court takes cognizance of the matter to which theproceeding relates, and in the case of a civil or criminal proceeding, shall be deemed to continue to be pending until it isheard and finally decided, that is to say, in a case where an appeal or revision is competent, until theappeal or revision is heard and finally decided or, where no appeal or revision is preferred, until theperiod of limitation prescribed for such appeal or revision has expired; (b) which has been heard and finally decided shall not be deemed to be pending merely by reasonof the fact that proceedings for the execution of the decree, order or sentence passed therein arepending.

Subject to the provisionscontained in section 7, a person shall not be guilty of contempt of court for publishing a fair and accuratereport of a judicial proceeding or any stage thereof.

A person shall not be guilty of contempt of courtfor publishing any fair comment on the merits of any case which has been heard and finally decided.