We must always remember that in a young nation state struggling to find its identity and its place in the sun, trying to convert its diversity into strength rather than a fissure, there has to be a give and take between institutions subserving a common cause. Democracy is based on institutions and any weakening of these institutions would imperil our fragile democracy — is a message that the media needs to understand and remember and is also a thought that must inform the actions of the court. Confluence — not conflict — between institutions is the need of the day. We can recall, with advantage, the words of Lord Denning who said that the jurisdiction of contempt “... we will most sparingly exercise, more particularly as we ourselves have an interest in the matter. Let me say at once that we will never use this jurisdiction as a means to uphold our dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us...”

The writer is a senior lawyer and former solicitor general of India