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Fall of Hero

The document discusses the debate around contempt of court laws and freedom of expression. It notes that contempt of court laws aim to maintain integrity in the judicial system but can also make courts immune to criticism. The author argues that a vague fear of contempt laws has influenced many minds and literature, as writers self-censor to avoid potential legal issues. The novel "Fall of a Hero" by Abha Kumar is praised for depicting realities of the lower judiciary through creative substitutions that avoid direct legal terms due to this climate of fear around contempt of court.

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Nidhi Rathore
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33 views3 pages

Fall of Hero

The document discusses the debate around contempt of court laws and freedom of expression. It notes that contempt of court laws aim to maintain integrity in the judicial system but can also make courts immune to criticism. The author argues that a vague fear of contempt laws has influenced many minds and literature, as writers self-censor to avoid potential legal issues. The novel "Fall of a Hero" by Abha Kumar is praised for depicting realities of the lower judiciary through creative substitutions that avoid direct legal terms due to this climate of fear around contempt of court.

Uploaded by

Nidhi Rathore
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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FALL OF A HERO : THE RISING DEBATE

Abhitosh Pratap Singh


Contempt of Court Act and freedom of expresson
are t!o terms" !#c# #a$e %aned t#er man#ood &'
seen% eac# ot#er !t# an e'e of anmost'(
Do$eta)n% t#e t!o dametrca))' contradctor'
demands #ad ne$er &een an eas' tas* and t#s s
c)ear)' $s&)e n se$era) cases of Contempt of
Court Act" !#c# #a$e come &efore courts(
Contempt of Court Act s undou&ted)' an
attempt to sa$e t#e %race of our %)orous +udca)
s'stem and to mantan ts sanctt' and fat# t#at
t#e masses #a$e n t( But n t#e context of t#e
nsa)u&rous am&ence per$adn% outsde t#e
courts" t seems more )*e an attempt to ma*e t#e
courts ,crtc proof- or &e'ond crtcsm(
Attempts to up#o)d t#e sanctt' of courts
start from t#e sta%e of c)assroom" !#ere teac#ers
are supposed to apprecate t#e +ud%ments on t#e
ponts of )a!" rat#er on factors extraneous to
)a!(
De)$ern% +ustce s somet#n%" !#c# s an
exc)us$e act of .ro$dence" and de)e%aton of
t#s act to +ud%es necessar)' fo))o!s a d$ne
treatment of +ud%es( If not out of passon t#en
out of compu)son(
A $a%ue fear of contempt #as remo)ded se$era)
mndsets f not #earts and sou)s( Lterature"
!#c# s sad to &e t#e mrror of socet'" s a)so
not a)oof from t#s smmern%( It appears" pen of
a !rter" !#c# remaned unruff)ed t#rou%# t#e
s#ac*)es of tme" s no! nf)cted !t# a fear
ps'c#oss t#ou%# n$o)untar)'( /#en t comes to
t#e depcton of unp)easant rea)tes of Indan
0udca) S'stem" t#s fear &ecomes more $s&)e(
A pro$so appears to #a$e &een c)amped on t#e
famous sa'n%"11(( ,pen s m%#ter t#an
s!ord-1111( .ro$ded1 Court permts t to &e(
It s dffcu)t to sa' !#en C#ar)es Dc*ens
!rote" ,t#s s t#e court of c#ancer'" t ex#austs
#opes" patence" and fnances- t#s $a%ue fear !as
#auntn% or not( Courts and State #a$e tred to
&ecome more po!erfu) n recent past )eadn% to a
Hma)a'an #eap of )e%s)aton and a&'sma)
)t%aton(
Dra!n% a defnte conc)uson n t#s respect s
frau%#t !t# no )ess c#a))en%n% mp)catons( A
fe! excerpts from A&#a 2aur'a3s no$e) ,Fa)) of a
Hero- !ou)d #e)p n understandn% serous
ramfcatons of t#s s%nfcant pro&)em(
T#e !ords n &o)d &en% t#e su&sttutes for
)e%a) terms ref)ect aut#ors )ur*n% appre#enson
and fear a&out &en% made a tar%et of pro$sons
of Contempt of Court Act( T#s a compe))n%
ar%ument a&out t#e #'persenst$t' or fear
ps'c#oss t#at s %enerated n t#e mnds of )a'men
&' t#e omnpotent presence of t#e )a! on contempt
of court !#c# needs to &e dspe))ed(
.rof( A&#a 2aur'a e$en &' a&stann% #mse)f
from usn% t#e strct terms of )e%a) par)ance" #as
depcted some %)oom' rea)tes of )o!er +udcar'
n an ex4uste manner( T#s sacrfcn%
a&stnence #as made t#s no$e) a sui-generis
masterpece( A masterpece" !#c# states some
cacop#onc rea)tes n most eup#onc tone( A))
t#s facts %an more s%nfcance &' t#e fact t#at
t s !rtten &' a person !#o s a )a'man n t#e
arena of )a!( Apart from &en% an e'e opener"
no$e) a)so scores #%# on entertanment sca)e(
Inte))%ent su&sttutons of strct )e%a)
terms #a$e made t#s no$e) a must read for e$er'
)a! student( It3s $er' dffcu)t to *no! t#e exact
mndset &e#nd t#s su&sttuton1 poss&)t' of
- 2 -
$a%ue fear cannot &e ru)ed out &ut after %on%
t#rou%# t#e !#o)e no$e) one cou)d %et a dfferent
#nt re%ardn% aut#or3s mndset( An ntenton to
&rn% a c)ear pcture #a$n% co)ors of star*
trut#s" !t#out creatn% unnecessar' turmo)"
seems to &e t#e most pro&a&)e one(
- 3 -

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