The Hindu : National : Court order against Biman Bose stayed

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Wednesday, Apr 27, 2005

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National

Court order against Biman Bose stayed

Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Calcutta High Court order sentencing the Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Biman Bose, to undergo three days' imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000 for contempt of court.

A Bench of Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice Tarun Chatterjee stayed the High Court order after a mention for stay was made by senior counsel, Fali Nariman, appearing for Mr. Bose.

In his Special Leave Petition, Mr. Bose, who is also West Bengal's ruling Left Front chairman, submitted that he did not make any remarks which would undermine the authority of the judiciary. His comments on a High Court judgment imposing restrictions on rallies were made in good faith.

A criminal contempt petition was filed in the High Court in September 2003 alleging that Mr. Bose, who led a rally in defiance of a High Court order banning rallies in Kolkata between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., had criticised the judge who imposed the ban.

A Division Bench held that Mr. Bose's comment was unfair criticism directed not only against a single judge but the judiciary as a whole. It sentenced him to three days' imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000 for contempt of court. The Bench, however, stayed the operation of the order for four weeks on a plea made by Mr. Bose's counsel that he wanted to file an appeal in the apex court. The SLP is directed against this order.

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