Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, CJI Table of Contents I.

Factual Background ...................................................................................... 4 II.

The High Court did not have the power to direct the notification of the Rules proposed by the Chief Justice ......................................................... 14 III.

Criminal Contempt cannot be initiated against a party for availing legal remedies and raising a legal challenge to an order ................................. 18 IV.

Summoning of Government Officials before Courts ............................ 21

1. Leave granted.

2. The present appeals arise from two orders of the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad1 dated 4 April 2023 and 19 April 2023.2 The Impugned Orders have given rise to significant questions about the separation of powers, the exercise of criminal contempt jurisdiction, and the practice of frequently summoning government officials to court.

3. By its order dated 4 April 2023,3 the High Court directed the Government of Uttar Pradesh to inter alia notify rules proposed by the Chief Justice of the High Court pertaining to ‘Domestic Help to Former