(1) Every application by a person or the Advocate-General for alleged contempt of any Court Subordinate to the High Court or of the High Court shall be accompanied by two additional sets of all the papers in the case for the record of the court and the required number of copies for service on the alleg-=dcontemner.
(2) Every such application shall be posted before a Division Bench dealing with such cases, for the time being if the contempt alleged is of a Subordinate Court and before such Bench as the Chief Justice may direct, if the contempt alleged is in respect of the High Court, for orders as to whether notice shall issue to the alleged contemner.
(3) Notice of such application, if ordered by court, requiring the alleged contemner to appear on a day fixed, which shall be not less than four weeks from the date of order or as fixed by the court, shall be sent out for personal service on alleged contemner. '
(4) No process fee shall be collected for service of process.
(5) Every such application shall on the date fixed, be posted for hearing before a Division Bench dealing with such cases for the time being.
NOTE Rule 7.-A contempt petition can never be decided on probabilities. Even if two views are possible, the benefit of the doubt must be given to the contemner. Advocate General of Tamil Nadu v. M. Karunanidhi, (2002) 2 MLJ 821, paragraph 8.
The Contempt of Court Act as well as the rules requires the consent of the Advocate General particularly for initiation of criminal contempt. Any deviation from the prescribed rules should not be accepted or condoned lightly and is fatal to the proceedings. Muthu Karuppan v. Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, (2011) 5 SCC 496 paragraph 46 (SC); K.Neelamegam v. Durgamoorthi Revenue Divisional Officer, 2012 Writ LR 97 paragraph 17.
8. Where a Judge of the High Court considers that any matter that might have come to his notice in any way requires initiation of proceedings in contempt against any person, the papers relevant thereto together with the direction of the Judge shall be placed before the Chief Justice for consideration as to whether the matter may be forwarded to the Advocate-General.
NOTES Rule 8 which informs of any matter that might have come to the notice of a judge and wherein he considered it necessary to initiate proceedings in contempt, cannot apply when contempt has been informed of having been committed in the presence and/or hearing of the judge. Peter Ramesh Kumar, In re (2014) 1 LW 199 paragraph 7 (FE).
There is a vast difference between the proceedings taken by the High Court under Rule 8 and a contempt petition filed by a party to the proceedings before the court.
When a party to the case seeks contempt action against the opposite party he must comply with the'statutory requirements as contained in Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act. S. Balamurugan v. Senthil Maran, (2012) 4 MLJ 697 paragraph 12.
Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of Courts 557