The Kerala High Court has accepted the unconditional apology tendered by senior Congress leader and Member of Parliament (MP) K. Sudhakaran and closed criminal contempt proceedings initiated against him over remarks made in a 2019 public speech against judges of the High Court.
A Division Bench of Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V and Justice K.V. Jayakumar held that the apology was bona fide and genuine, and discharged the respondent from the contempt proceedings.
The contempt petition stemmed from a speech delivered by Sudhakaran on August 3, 2019, in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks concerning judges who had decided W.A. No. 628 of 2018. The case concerned the murder of a youth congress activist Shuhaib, where the parents of the deceased sought a CBI probe alleging a biased state investigation. However, the High Court found the state police had already arrested the main accused and recovered the weapons, ruling that a transfer was unjustified since no cover-up was proven.
Congress leader K. Sudhakaran strongly criticised the Division Bench order, making highly derogatory remarks that led to a years-long criminal contempt case against him. According to the petitioner, the speech contained statements scandalising the judges and lowering the dignity and authority of the Court.
Following a sanction petition filed under Section 15(2) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Advocate General, by an order dated April 30, 2021, granted sanction to initiate criminal contempt proceedings after concluding that Sudhakaran had publicly described the judgment as Barbaric and made scandalising remarks against the judges who delivered it. The High Court thereafter issued notice to him on February 5, 2024.
When the matter was taken up on June 19, 2026, counsel informed the Court that Sudhakaran sincerely regretted his remarks, never intended to malign the judiciary, and wished to tender an unconditional and unqualified apology. The Court directed him to appear personally and file an affidavit admitting the contempt and apologising.
He stated that the impugned expression was made “spontaneously in a moment of anger, frustration and emotional distress” and was neither deliberate nor malicious. In his affidavit, he affirmed his unwavering faith in the judiciary, withdrew the statement unconditionally, and assured the Court that he would exercise greater restraint in future.
Taking note of Rule 14(a) of the Contempt of Courts (High Court of Kerala) Rules, 1988, which permits acceptance of an unconditional apology after admission of contempt, the Bench observed that the apology satisfied the requirements of the Rule.
Finding the apology to be genuine, the Court accepted it and discharged the respondent, bringing the criminal contempt proceedings to a close.
