The Supreme Court has registered a letter by advocate Vineet Jindal as a writ petition, opening a court case on whether a social-media post by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) telling Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to 'resign now' should be examined under the law of criminal contempt. Court records show the matter was registered on October 30 as W.P.(C) No. 1431/2026, with Jindal and Sreejesh S.R. as petitioners and the KPCC as the sole respondent, according to LawBeat's reading of the Court's case status.

Source: LawBeat

The registration is a procedural step, not a ruling: the petition is yet to be listed for hearing before a Bench, and the Court has issued no contempt notice in this matter, Bar and Bench reported. The case status lists the petitioner's advocate as 'By Court's Motion', which is why the registration is described as the Court acting on its own motion on the lawyer's representation.

Source: Bar and Bench

The post at the centre of the case appeared on the official X handle of Congress Kerala (@INCKerala) on October 12. It read: 'Dear Surya Kant, If law and order is not your domain, resign now. We will find your replacement who can handle it.' The post was deleted soon after it drew widespread criticism.

Source: Verdictum

In his October 13 letter to the Chief Justice, Jindal argued that the office of the CJI 'cannot be treated as one whose continuance is subject to the approval or displeasure of any political organisation', and asked the Court to examine whether the post stays within permissible political criticism or warrants consideration under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, read with Article 129 of the Constitution. The letter also sought an examination of the political demonstration connected with the Supreme Court premises on October 12, reportedly involving Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders, and asked for CCTV footage and access-control records to be preserved — while adding the caveat that a peaceful demonstration or slogans at a lawful location do not by themselves establish contempt.

Source: Bar and Bench

The KPCC's own position is already on record. In a reply dated October 22 to a legal notice from Supreme Court Bar Association Joint Secretary Meenesh Dubey, KPCC President Sunny Joseph tendered an unconditional apology to the Chief Justice, saying the post had been published by party worker Vijay Thottathil without the leadership's knowledge, consent or consultation, and that Thottathil has since been removed from his position.

Source: Bar and Bench

Separately, on October 15, a Bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders on a petition by four lawyers concerning the October 12 march, but declined to issue notice on that plea's prayer for contempt action over the Kerala Congress post. 'No contempt today. We are only issuing notice. Let us see what the response is, and then we will take it forward,' the CJI had said. Verdictum also reported that advocate-on-record Savita Singh has separately sought consent under Section 15(1)(b) of the Contempt of Courts Act to initiate criminal contempt proceedings against KPCC President Sunny Joseph and others over the post.

Source: Verdictum

What happens next depends on listing: once a Bench takes up W.P.(C) No. 1431/2026, it will decide whether the post is examined as contempt, treated as protected criticism, or closed in light of the apology already tendered. Sources: Bar and Bench, Verdictum and LawBeat, reporting the Supreme Court's case records and the letter's contents.