Contempt of court: CPM leader jailed

Senior CPM leader MV Jayarajan was sentenced to six-months' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 for contempt of court on Tuesday.

Senior CPM leader MV Jayarajan was sentenced to six-months' imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 for contempt of court on Tuesday.

This is the first time a senior politician received the maximum punishment in a contempt case. Jayarajan is a former legislator and a member of the party state secretariat.

A division bench of justice V Ram Kumar and justice PQ Barkath Ali of Kerala high court turned down his plea for a suspended sentence. Later, he was taken to jail. Jayarajan had called the judges 'sumbhanmar' — a Sanskrit word meaning a 'bunch of idiots' — for banning public meetings on roadsides.

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The comment was made at a meeting in north Kerala's Kannur in July and the court took suo motu congnizance of it.

Jayarajan moved the Supreme Court, contending that the charges were framed without a preliminary hearing. The plea was turned down.