Types of Contempt — KSLU Ethics Notes

Types of Contempt

flowchart TD
    A["Contempt of Court - Sec 2a"] --> B["Civil Contempt - Sec 2b"]
    A --> C["Criminal Contempt - Sec 2c"]
    B --> B1["Wilful disobedience of court order"]
    B --> B2["Wilful breach of undertaking given to court"]
    C --> C1["Scandalising the court"]
    C --> C2["Prejudicing pending cases sub judice rule"]
    C --> C3["Interfering with administration of justice"]

Civil vs Criminal Contempt — Compared

Feature	Civil Contempt	Criminal Contempt
Definition (Sec)	Sec 2(b)	Sec 2(c)
Nature	Private wrong — affects a party	Public wrong — affects the institution
Who initiates	Aggrieved party	Court suo motu or AG
Purpose	Compel compliance	Punish and deter
Example	Disobeying a stay order	Calling a judge corrupt in public