In Brief
A police officer was prosecuted for criminal contempt after allegedly breaching an assurance given to court that a person would not be arrested pending an anticipatory bail hearing. The officer arrested the person on 21 September 1993, one day before the scheduled hearing on 22 September 1993. The High Court convicted him and imposed seven days' imprisonment. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal on a procedural ground: Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 requires that criminal contempt of subordinate courts be initiated by reference from the court itself or by the Advocate-General, not by private complaint. Since no such reference or motion had been made, the proceedings were void."
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