The Kerala high court on Thursday directed the registrar to take action against a former judicial officer, S Sudeep, for making a series of attacks against the court and its order through social media.
But Justice Devan Ramachandran refused to initiate contempt proceedings against him, saying the court did not wish to give him undue publicity.
Sudeep had resigned from the judicial service in June this year when the high court started disciplinary proceedings against him for his comments on social media. But he continued to post comments criticising the judiciary, the court found.
This was brought to the attention of the court by bar council member Mohammad Shah. He also cited a recent post on Facebook in which Sudeep allegedly ridiculed the judge for an order passed against the so-called antique collector Monson Mavunkal.
Though Sudeep was summoned, he did not appear in the court.
“The tragedy with the present day is that busybodies feel they can comment about anything on social media under the impression that no accountability will come on them. Social media is good in the hands of good and worthy. But for some it is unrestrained playground …One can only leave them to their mischief until long arms of law reach them,” Justice Devan Ramachandran observed. The court also noted that Sudeep was projecting himself as a martyr and threatening to harm himself.
Sudeep, a sub-judge, had resigned from the judicial service in June after the high court started disciplinary action against him after he openly criticised the judiciary for not releasing Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy who later died in a hospital in Maharashtra. Later the HC had set up a panel that found that he repeatedly violated a 2017 circular, which restrained judicial officers from making comments on sensitive issues.
