Truth is a defence in contempt proceeding and it is now statutorily settled, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said.
‘The court may now permit truth as a defence if two things are satisfied, viz., it is in public interest and the request for invoking said defence is bona fide,’ a five-judge Constitution bench headed by chief justice RM Lodha said.
The bench said such a conclusion is arrived in the wake of amendment brought in 2006 in the 1971 law dealing with the contemp proceedings.
‘The legal position with regard to truth as a defence in contempt proceedings is now statutorily settled by Section 13 of the 1971 Act (as substituted by Act 6 of 2006),’ the bench said.
‘The court may now permit truth as a defence if two things are satisfied, viz., it is in public interest and the request for invoking said defence is bona fide,’ a five-judge Constitution bench headed by chief justice RM Lodha said.
The bench said such a conclusion is arrived in the wake of amendment brought in 2006 in the 1971 law dealing with the contemp proceedings.
‘The legal position with regard to truth as a defence in contempt proceedings is now statutorily settled by Section 13 of the 1971 Act (as substituted by Act 6 of 2006),’ the bench said.