KOCHI: A division of bench of the Kerala High Court ended the contempt of court proceedings initiated against minister K.C. Joseph on Friday after he appeared in person in the court and posted an apology on the Facebook. The bench comprising Justice Thottathil Radhakrishnan and Sunil Thomas accepted the apology tendered by Mr. Joseph on the Facebook.
Mr. Joseph also told the court that he had withdrawn the Facebook post after realising the mistake and would not show disrespect to the judiciary in future.
The court, however, mentioned that ministers should be careful while expressing their opinions in public forums. Public servants should be aware of the power and influence of social media such as Facebook, the court observed.
Mr V. Sivan Kutty MLA had approached the court citing that the minister had committed contempt of court by making disparaging remarks against Justice Alexander Thomas. In his post on his Facebook page Mr. Joseph had equated certain remarks made by Justice Thomas to the howling of a fox. The counsel for Mr. Kutty opposed the court ending the proceedings against Mr. Joseph by stating the minister had never admitted his mistakes.
