Section 4 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971: Fair and Accurate Report of Judicial Proceeding

Section 4 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 provides a statutory protection for publishing a fair and accurate report of a judicial proceeding, or any stage of it. The protection is expressly subject to Section 7 of the Act.

Text of Section 4

Section 4 - Fair and accurate report of judicial proceeding not contempt.

Subject to the provisions contained in section 7, a person shall not be guilty of contempt of court for publishing a fair and accurate report of a judicial proceeding or any stage thereof.

Meaning and scope of Section 4

The provision protects reporting of court proceedings when the report is both fair and accurate. It applies not only to a report of the entire proceeding but also to a report of a stage of the proceeding. The statutory protection is not absolute because Section 4 itself makes the protection subject to Section 7.

What does "fair and accurate" mean?

Section 4 does not separately define the expressions "fair" and "accurate". In applying the provision, the central statutory requirement is that the publication must fairly and accurately report the judicial proceeding or the relevant stage rather than materially distort what occurred.

Why Section 7 matters

Section 7 deals with publication of information relating to proceedings in chambers or in camera. It identifies circumstances in which publication may lose statutory protection, including where publication is prohibited by law or expressly prohibited by the court on specified grounds.

Practical point: Section 4 should therefore be read together with Section 7 before publishing material concerning proceedings held in chambers or in camera, or where a court has restricted publication.

Related provisions

Section 3 concerns innocent publication and distribution of matter, while Section 5 protects fair comment on the merits of a case that has been heard and finally decided. These are separate statutory protections and should not be treated as substitutes for the requirements of Section 4.

Official legal source

The current central Act may be checked on the Government of India's India Code portal. The official text confirms that the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 is Act No. 70 of 1971 and contains the Section 4 protection described above.

Official text - Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (India Code)