Allahabad High Court: In a contempt application initiated against the contemnor arising out of the complaint sent by him alleging corruption against Judges of this High Court, the division bench of Vivek Chaudhary and Brij Raj Singh, JJ. found the contemnor guilty of committing criminal contempt of this Court under Section 2(c)(i) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (‘Act, 1971’). However, considering his old age and the fact that this was his first offence, the Court imposed a fine of Rs. 2,000/- to be deposited by him before the Senior Registrar, High Court, Lucknow, within a period of one month from the date of the order. In default of payment, he was directed to undergo simple imprisonment for one week.
After perusing the record and the contents of the complaint, the Court stated that the allegation of corruption has been leveled against the Judges of this High Court without any basis or evidence. Further, the contemnor had admitted the contents of the complaint which he had written. The original document was shown to him, and he acknowledged his signatures on the same. He also admitted that he had sent the complaint. Therefore, there was no justification for requiring the covering letter or forwarding letter issued by the Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi, as he had already admitted the contents of the complaint.
The Court further held that the contents of the complaint clearly fell within the purview of criminal contempt. The contemnor had scandalized and lowered the authority of the Court, which amounted to interference in the administration of justice. The proceedings were, therefore, initiated under Section 2(c) of the Act, 1971, based on the reference made by the Acting Chief Justice.
The Court took note of the scope and ambit of Section 2(c) of the Act, 1971 by referring to various precedents.
The Court concluded that the contemnor had made a frivolous and baseless complaint, in which he falsely accused the Judges of this Court of dealing with corrupt, dishonest, and traitor officials and accepting money for dismissing a Writ Petition. He further alleged that, as part of a corrupt deal, the writ petition was dismissed with costs on the very first day of the hearing. The Court held that such allegations scandalized and lowered the authority of the Court, which constitutes contempt in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. It was also noted that the contemnor did not file an affidavit tendering his apology or make any request for the same.
In view of the above, the Court found contemnor guilty of committing criminal contempt of this Court under Section 2(c)(i) of the Act, 1971. However, considering his old age and the fact that this was his first offence, the Court imposed a fine of Rs. 2,000/- to be deposited by him before the Senior Registrar, High Court, Lucknow, within a period of one month from the date of the order. In default of payment, he was directed to undergo simple imprisonment for one week. The Senior Registrar of this Court was directed to ensure necessary compliance.
[State of U.P. v. Devendra Kumar Dixit, Contempt Application (Criminal) No.1202 of 2016, decided on 24-03-2025]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Counsel for Applicant :- G.A
Counsel for Opposite Party :- Indra Bhusan Singh, D K Dixit (In Person)