SC: Making Laws Not Contempt, Legislatures Within Rights
In a ruling that upholds the constitutional separation of powers, the Supreme Court of India has stated that the mere act of law-making by Parliament or state legislatures cannot be construed as contempt of court. The clarification came while hearing a contempt petition linked to the Chhattisgarh government’s response to a 2011 Supreme Court order concerning the disbandment of the Salwa Judum militia.
The contempt plea, filed in 2012 by sociologist Nandini Sundar and others, alleged that the state had violated court directives by passing the Chhattisgarh Auxiliary Armed Police Force Act, 2011. This law regularized Special Police Officers (SPOs) who were earlier directed to be disbanded by the apex court for their role in counter-Maoist operations.
“Making a Law Is Not Contempt”
The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma dismissed the plea, underscoring that:
“Any law made by the Parliament or a State legislature cannot be held to be an act of contempt of a Court, including this Court, for simply making the law.”
The bench affirmed that legislatures have the authority to make laws within their domain. It added that if anyone finds a newly enacted law unconstitutional, the proper legal remedy is to challenge it before a constitutional court, not to seek contempt proceedings against the legislature.
Preserving the Doctrine of Separation of Powers
The Court’s ruling emphasized that judicial overreach must be avoided and that each branch of government—legislative, executive, and judiciary—must respect the functions of the other. The judiciary retains the power of review but not the power to obstruct legislative functions unless a law is found to be ultra vires the Constitution.
This decision provides legal clarity and a protective shield for lawmakers, ensuring that legislative activity in itself does not attract charges of contempt unless accompanied by deliberate defiance of judicial authority.
The ruling reinforces institutional harmony, enabling governance and law-making to proceed without fear of being misconstrued as judicial defiance.
