A livid Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Friday issued a contempt notice against former judge Markandey Katju, for his remarks after the judgment in Kerala’s infamous Soumya murder case, prompting him to shout back at the three-judge Bench.
Katju had appeared in the apex court for the hearing of a review petition filed by the Kerala government and Soumya’s mother. He reacted sharply to Justice Gogoi’s angry observations after the Bench twice sought his eviction from the packed courtroom. Senior lawyers present in the courtroom told The Quint that “there were fireworks by both sides” as “altercation after altercation ensued”.
Justice Katju opposed the contempt notice unsettling Justice Gogoi.
The review petition was dismissed in the hearing following which the contempt notice was issued against him for making personal remarks about judges in his blog and not an opinion on the judgement. Sources said that Katju will have to respond to the Bench’s contempt notice.
After Justice Gogoi’s Bench gave a verdict on the Soumya murder case in September, Justice Katju had said that the apex court had erred in not holding Govindachamy guilty of murder. Calling the judgment of the Soumya murder case a gross error, Katju added that the evidence for acquitting Govindachamy of murder was “inadmissible.”
Katju was in court on Friday on an invite from the Bench to debate on why he believed the judgment was flawed.
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