Article 129 – Supreme Court to be a court of record – The Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself.
The Courts, if they are to serve the purpose of administering the justice, must have the power to secure obedience to the orders passed by it to prevent interference with its proceedings. Law is well settled that the powers of the Supreme Court in contempt matters are not confined merely to the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act and the Rules framed there under. Law of Contempt, as is often said, is only one of the many ways in which the due process of law is prevented from being perverted, hindered or thwarted to further the cause of justice. This Court has plenary power to punish any person for contempt of court and for that purpose it may require any person to be present in Court in the manner it considers appropriate to the facts of the case. The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 129 of the Constitution is independent of the Contempt of Courts Act and the powers conferred under Article 129 of the Constitution cannot be denuded, restricted or limited by the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971…… Rajeshwar Singh vs Subrata Roy Sahara & Ors
The power of the Supreme Court and the High Court being the Courts of Record as embodied under Articles 129 and 215 respectively cannot be restricted and trammelled by any ordinary legislation including the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act. Their inherent power is elastic, unfettered and not subjected to any limit. The power conferred upon the Supreme Court and the High Court, being Courts of Record under Articles 129 and 215 of the Constitution respectively is an inherent power and the jurisdiction vested is a special one not derived from any other statute but derived only from Articles 129 and 215 of the Constitution of India and therefore the constitutionally vested right cannot be either abridged by any legislation or abrogated or cut down. Nor can they be controlled or limited by any statute or by any provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure or any Rules. The caution that has to be observed in exercising this inherent power by summary procedure is that the power should be used sparingly, that the procedure to be followed should be fair and that the contemnor should be made aware of the charge against him and given a reasonable opportunity to defend himself.
“Entry 77 of List 1, Schedule 7 read with Article 246 confers power on the Parliament to enact law with respect to the Constitution, organization, jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court including the contempt of the Supreme Court. The Parliament is thus competent to enact a law relating to the powers of Supreme Court with regard to ‘contempt of itself’ such a law may prescribe procedure to be followed and it may also prescribe the maximum punishment which could be awarded and it may provide for appeal and for other matters. But the Central Legislature has no legislative competence to abridge or extinguish the jurisdiction or power conferred on the Supreme Court under Article 129 of the Constitution. ……….”………Delhi Judicial Service Association, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi v. State of Gujarat and others (1991) 4 SCC 406.
The power conferred on this Court under Article 129 is a constitutional power which cannot be circumscribed or delineated either by the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 or Rules or even the Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of the Supreme Court, 1975, framed in exercise of powers under Section 23 of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, read with Article 145 of the Constitution of India……. I. Manilal Singh v. Dr. H. Borobabu Singh and another (1994) Suppl. (1) SCC 718