Vineeta Srinandan vs High Court Of Judicature At Bombay ; 2025 INSC 1408 - Contempt of Courts - Ratio Decidendi

Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 - Section 12 -While an act may amount to contempt, the proviso to Section 12 of the Contempt Act empowers the Court to discharge the contemnor or remit the punishment awarded. The only requirement for exercising such power is that the apology must be genuine and acceptable to the Court. The Explanation to Section 12 further clarifies that an apology shall not be rejected merely because it is qualified or conditional, if it is made bona fide- Once a contemnor expresses sincere remorse, even if the apology is not unqualified in form, the Court is competent to accept it and, where necessary, discharge the contemnor or remit the sentence imposed. (Para 9.5)

Precedent - Ratio Decidendi - The ratio decidendi of a judgment must be understood in the context of its facts and the issue decided therein. Only where the factual matrix is materially similar can the ratio in an earlier decision be applied- where a decision turns upon its own facts or is guided by the peculiarities of a particular case, it does not constitute the ratio of the judgment- It is neither profitable nor permissible to rely upon isolated lines from a judgment, for the binding element lies in the ratio decidendi and not in every observation contained therein. (Para 9-9.1)

Contempt of Court - The power to punish necessarily carries within it the concomitant power to forgive, where the individual before the Court demonstrates genuine remorse and repentance for the act that has brought him to this position. Therefore, in exercise of contempt jurisdiction, Courts must remain conscious that this power is not a personal armour for Judges, nor a sword to silence criticism. After all, it requires fortitude to acknowledge contrition for one’s lapse, and an even greater virtue to extend forgiveness to the erring. Mercy, therefore, must remain an integral part of the judicial conscience, to be extended where the contemnor sincerely acknowledges his lapse and seeks to atone for it. (Para 1)