Today, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognizance of an unusual order issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which criticized a stay order previously passed by the Top Court.

A 5-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy will hear the case tomorrow.

The suo motu case, titled "In Re: Order of Punjab and Haryana High Court Order Dated 17.07.2024 and Ancillary Issues," has been registered in response to an order passed by a single bench of the High Court on July 17. This order contained several critical observations against the Supreme Court for staying contempt proceedings initiated by the High Court.

The single-headed bench of Justice Rajbir Sehrawat of the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that the Supreme Court tends to presume it is more "Supreme" than it actually is and that it views the High Court as less 'High' than it constitutionally is. In January this year, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu action to stay a single bench order of the Calcutta High Court, which had defied a division bench order.

In the order, the High Court issued a "note of caution" to the Supreme Court, urging it to be more specific in causing legal consequences through its orders.