Karnataka High Court sought the response of the Union Government in a plea challenging the validity of a provision of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 Into Legal World Wed, Jan 13, 2021, at ,03:12 PM The Karnataka High Court seeks the response of the Central government in a petition challenging the validity of Section 2(c)(i) of Contempt of Courts Act,1971 which criminalizes publication of any matter which could scandalize or lower the authority of the courts. The bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay S. Okay has issued notice to the Union Government on the petition filed by journalists Krishna Prasad and N. Ram, former Union Minister Arun Shourie, and advocate Prashant Bhushan. The petition states that “for example, a mere interrogation by a traffic constable about whether the red beacon on the hood of a judge’s car was held to be contempt on the ground of scandalizing the court." The petitioners have contended in their present PIL that Section 2(c)(i) of the Contempt of Courts Act,1971, violates the right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) and does not amount to a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2). In the end, it is stated that the impugned provision is disproportionate to the aim that the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 sought to achieve, namely, to balance the fundamental right to free speech and expression with the status and dignity of courts and interests of the administration of justice.