Majesty Of Law Restored: Meghalaya High Court Purges Advocates Of Contempt After Apology & Withdrawal Of Call For Abstention
The Bench accepted apology from the Advocates and purged of contempt for joining court boycott; dropped proceedings against those who had resigned earlier or did not abstain.
The Meghalaya High Court has held that the majesty of law stood restored where the Bar Associations withdrew a call for abstention from court work as soon as contempt notices were issued, and the advocates tendered an unconditional apology at the earliest opportunity with an assurance not to repeat the conduct. The Court accepted the apology, purged the contemnors of contempt and closed the contempt petition.
The Court found the apology bona fide and sincere, and the regret and remorse genuine. It dropped proceedings against advocates who had resigned from their posts before the resolution or who showed that they had appeared in courts despite the call. It appreciated the stand of both Bar Associations and trusted that the abstention would not be repeated.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice H.S. Thangkhiew observed, “We find that the unconditional apology tendered is bonafide and sincere. All the contemnors have shown genuine regret and remorse. Considering the aforesaid, in particular, the withdrawal of the call for abstention, at the earliest, as soon as contempt notices were issued, the unconditional apology tendered at the earliest opportunity and assurance given not to participate in any such call for abstention of Court work, this Court is of the view that the majesty of law stands restored”.
N.D. Chullai, Additional Advocate General and A.S. Dey, Senior Government Advocate, appeared for the respondents.
The Shillong Bar Association and the High Court of Meghalaya Bar Association had resolved on September 30, 2026 to abstain from judicial work in all districts of Meghalaya from October 01, 2026, until the State Government removed the Advocate General from his post. The Court registered a suo motu public interest litigation on this call for abstention.
On October 08, 2026, the Court issued notice under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, read with Article 215 of the Constitution, to the advocates named in an earlier order, returnable on October 13, 2026. On October 09, 2026, the Bar Associations withdrew the call with immediate effect. On the returnable date, the advocates appeared, tendered an unconditional apology and were directed to file affidavits.
Two advocates filed affidavits stating that they had not participated in the abstention, and annexed documents showing that they had appeared before courts during the period. Contempt proceedings against them were dropped. Two others had resigned from their posts well before the resolution, which the Court noted as a matter of record, and proceedings against them were also dropped.
The remaining advocates filed identical affidavits tendering an unconditional apology, expressing regret and assuring the Court that they would not join any such abstention in the future. The Court noted that the withdrawal of the call came the day after the notice was issued. It weighed the earliest possible withdrawal, the apology at the first opportunity and the assurance given, and held that these restored the majesty of law.
The Court accepted the apology and assurance, purged the contemnors of contempt and discharged them from the proceedings. It closed the contempt petition and disposed of the petition accordingly.
Cause Title: Registrar General, High Court of Meghalaya v. State of Meghalaya & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2026:MLHC:1154-DB)
Appearances:
Respondents: Additional Advocate General N.D. Chullai, Senior Government Advocate A.S. Dey and Government Advocate S. Laloo for the respondents.