13.8 Contempt of Court

The constitutional basis (Article 128(4)): the SC's — and each High Court's (139(2)) — power to initiate and punish contempt against anyone obstructing the act of judicial execution or not abiding by the court's order or verdict — the execution-obstruction formula: contempt protects the judgment's enforcement, not merely the court's dignity; The categories (by function): civil contempt — disobedience of orders (the execution- protection arm); criminal contempt — scandalising, obstructing, interfering (the authority- protection arm); with the fair-comment and truth qualifications of the general law of contempt; The limits and tensions: open justice vs. punishment — reportage, criticism and academic comment are the protected zone; the sub judice rule's parliamentary mirror (Article 105: no parliamentary discussion of judicial acts — the two branches' mutual respect clause); the self- judging critique — the contempt power's abuse potential (the court judging offences against itself); The parliamentary counterpart (do not confuse): the Houses' own contempt powers over their proceedings (Article 103(7)–(8), Unit 11) — the parallel authority-protecting regimes. Exam Focus Long questions: "How does the Constitution of Nepal (2015) secure the independence of the judiciary?" (the six-guarantee list) / "Describe the structure of the Nepali judiciary and the appointment machinery." / "Explain the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 133." / "Explain the removal of the Chief Justice and SC judges under…