The Delhi High Court has sentenced YouTuber and advocate Gulshan Pahuja to six months simple imprisonment in two criminal contempt cases for allegedly scandalising the judiciary and undermining the authority of courts through videos targeting judicial officers.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that Pahuja had displayed no remorse despite being held guilty of criminal contempt. The Court noted that he had failed to show any willingness to reform his conduct and had instead aggravated the matter through his submissions before the Bench.
The Bench emphasised that the conduct of the contemnor warranted strict action, stating that a failure to impose adequate punishment could embolden him to continue making similar statements in the future.
Accordingly, the Court imposed what it termed the maximum punishment under the law six months simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000 in each of the two contempt cases. The Court directed that the sentences would run concurrently.
The High Court held that the videos in question amounted to attempts to scandalise the judiciary and diminish public confidence in the institution of courts. It reiterated that while fair criticism of judicial functioning is permissible, attacks intended to lower the dignity and authority of courts cross the line into criminal contempt.
At the same time, the Bench granted temporary relief to Pahuja after he expressed his intention to challenge the judgment before the Supreme Court.
Invoking Section 19 (3) of the Contempt of Courts Act, the Court suspended the sentence for a period of 60 days to enable him to approach the apex court.
The suspension means that the sentence will not be immediately executed, giving Pahuja time to seek appellate relief from the Supreme Court against the High Court’s judgment and order on sentence.
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