The Delhi High Court had initiated the contempt proceedings within the current case by itself in 2018 after receiving a letter from senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao. File
| Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
The Delhi High Court on October 11 stated it was not “peevish” about being “called names” and welcomed free and truthful criticism but asserted it can not tolerate obstruction of the judicial system.
The court’s remarks got here whereas coping with a contempt case in opposition to a number of people over sure alleged remarks in opposition to its sitting choose in 2018.
“We welcome just and fair criticism. If you have just and fair criticism of courts, you are free to …(but) what can’t be appreciated is something that we can’t say lowers the majesty of court but obstructs functioning of the court, the system. That we will not tolerate,” a bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul stated.
“We are not peevish about being called names but we are very concerned when system is obstructed,” added the bench, additionally comprising Justice Anish Dayal.
In 2018, sure tweets alleging bias in opposition to Justice S Muralidhar, who was then a choose of the Delhi High Court and not too long ago retired because the chief justice of the Orissa High Court, have been posted by sure individuals as he had launched rights activist Gautam Navlakha from home arrest within the Bhima-Koregaon violence case.
Subsequently, contempt of court proceedings have been initiated in opposition to alleged contemnors filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, Ranganathan and others by the High Court.
Counsel for writer Anand Ranganathan on October 11 informed the court he has filed an affidavit “clarifying his position” that his assertion, which is beneath scrutiny within the contempt proceedings, was a “not a comment on the specific facts of the case” but was common in nature and he “has no skin the game”.
He stated tendering an unconditional apology within the matter would quantity to acceptance of the allegations of contemptuous conduct.
His lawyer had earlier informed the court his assertion was solely in relation to his place that there must be no follow of contempt of court.
Counsel for an additional alleged contemnor, {a magazine} which was said to have printed data on the offending content material, stated it has already filed an affidavit tendering unconditional apology and the article has additionally been taken down.
The court listed the matter for listening to on November 9.
The High Court had initiated the contempt proceedings within the current case by itself in 2018 after receiving a letter from senior advocate Rajshekhar Rao.
The contempt proceedings have been additionally initiated in opposition to Swaminathan Gurumurthy, the editor of the Chennai-based weekly “Thuglak“, for his tweets in opposition to the choose.
The proceedings in opposition to Gurumurthy have been subsequently closed in October 2019. Earlier this yr, the court accepted the apology tendered by Agnihotri and discharged him.
Mr. Rao, in his letter, had said that the tweets have been a deliberate try and assault a excessive court choose.
Earlier, the court had directed two social media platforms to dam the weblinks to an offending article levelling scandalous allegations in opposition to the choose.
