Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 - Appeals
Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 provides a statutory appeal in specified cases from an order or decision of a High Court made in exercise of its jurisdiction to punish for contempt. It also deals with suspension of punishment, bail, hearing of the appeal and the time for filing the appeal.
What Section 19 provides
| Provision | Effect |
|---|---|
| Section 19(1)(a) | Where the appealable order or decision is of a Single Judge of the High Court, the appeal lies to a Bench of not less than two Judges of that High Court. |
| Section 19(1)(b) | Where the appealable order or decision is of a Bench of the High Court, the appeal lies to the Supreme Court. |
| Section 19(2) | The appellate court may suspend execution of the punishment or order, release an appellant in confinement on bail, and hear the appeal even if the appellant has not purged the contempt. |
| Section 19(3) | The High Court may exercise the powers mentioned in Section 19(2) where the aggrieved person satisfies it that an appeal is intended. |
| Section 19(4) | The prescribed period is 30 days for an appeal to a Bench of the High Court and 60 days for an appeal to the Supreme Court, calculated from the date of the order appealed against. |
Text of Section 19 - Appeals
(1) An appeal shall lie as of right from any order or decision of the High Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction to punish for contempt-
(a) where the order or decision is that of a single judge, to a Bench of not less than two judges of the court;
(b) where the order or decision is that of a Bench, to the Supreme Court:
Provided that where the order or decision is that of the Court of the Judicial Commissioner in any Union territory, such appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court.
(2) Pending any appeal, the appellate court may order that-
(a) the execution of the punishment or order appealed against be suspended;
(b) if the appellant is in confinement, he be released on bail; and
(c) the appeal be heard notwithstanding that the appellant has not purged his contempt.
(3) Where any person aggrieved by any order against which an appeal may be filed satisfies the High Court that he intends to prefer an appeal, the High Court may also exercise all or any of the powers conferred by sub-section (2).
(4) An appeal under sub-section (1) shall be filed-
(a) in the case of an appeal to a Bench of the High Court, within thirty days;
(b) in the case of an appeal to the Supreme Court, within sixty days, from the date of the order appealed against.
Meaning and scope of the right of appeal
The expression "appeal shall lie as of right" means that Section 19 creates a statutory right of appeal when the conditions in Section 19(1) are satisfied. The forum depends on whether the relevant High Court order or decision was made by a Single Judge or by a Bench.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly explained that Section 19 is tied to the High Court's jurisdiction to punish for contempt. An order merely initiating contempt proceedings, declining to initiate them, dropping contempt proceedings, or exonerating the alleged contemnor is not, merely for that reason, an appealable order under Section 19. A direction deciding the underlying merits of the dispute is also ordinarily outside Section 19 unless it is incidental to or inextricably connected with an order punishing for contempt.
Interim protection pending appeal
Section 19(2) expressly empowers the appellate court to suspend execution of the punishment or the order appealed against. If the appellant is confined, the court may release the appellant on bail. The appeal can also be heard even where the appellant has not purged the contempt. Under Section 19(3), the High Court itself may grant corresponding protection when the aggrieved person satisfies it that an appeal is intended.
Limitation for filing an appeal
Section 19(4) specifies the statutory filing periods. An appeal to a Bench of the High Court is to be filed within 30 days, while an appeal to the Supreme Court is to be filed within 60 days, from the date of the order appealed against. Litigants should also check the applicable court rules and current filing requirements.
Official legal resources
The current central Act can be checked on the official India Code portal. Supreme Court judgments and information concerning the Court's appellate jurisdiction can be checked on the official Supreme Court of India website.
India Code - Central Acts
Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court - Jurisdiction
Related provisions
Section 19 should be read with the surrounding provisions governing contempt proceedings, including Section 18 - Hearing of cases of criminal contempt to be by Benches and Section 20 - Limitation for actions for contempt.
This page provides general legal information. Court procedure and the maintainability of an appeal depend on the nature and terms of the particular order.