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The Delhi High Court has sentenced YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja to six months' simple imprisonment in criminal contempt proceedings after holding that he continued to scandalise the judiciary and showed no remorse for his conduct.
The Court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 in each contempt matter, with both sentences directed to run concurrently. While hearing submissions on punishment, the Court recorded that Pahuja made further remarks against the judicial system, stating that "adaalaton ki manmarzi badhti jaa rahi hai" and adding that "manmarzi ka dusra arth taanashahi hota hai". A Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that the contemnor had neither expressed regret nor indicated any willingness to reform his conduct. The Court said that instead of showing remorse, he compounded the contempt by making additional scandalous submissions during the hearing itself. The Bench further held that leniency in such circumstances could embolden him to repeat similar acts in future. The contempt proceedings arose from videos uploaded by Pahuja allegedly containing allegations against judicial officers in the matters titled Court on its Own Motion v. Shiv Narayan Sharma & Ors. / Deepak Singh, Advocate & Anr. During the sentencing hearing, Pahuja sought recall of the April 21 judgment by which he had been held guilty of criminal contempt. He argued that the proceedings suffered from procedural irregularities, claiming he had not been fully heard and that the concerned judicial officers were neither summoned nor produced for cross-examination. He also alleged a violation of Articles 14, 20(3), and 21 of the Constitution. The Court, however, refused to revisit the conviction order, observing that it could not sit in review of its earlier judgment and that the contemnor was free to challenge the same in accordance with law. Appearing as Amicus Curiae, Harsh Prabhakar submitted that Pahuja had continued uploading videos against judicial officers despite an earlier restraint order passed by the Court in May 2025. He argued that the mere imposition of a fine would be inadequate in the facts of the case. Since Pahuja expressed his intention to approach the Supreme Court, the High Court suspended the sentence for 60 days under Section 19(3) of the Contempt of Courts Act. The Bench directed that in the absence of any protective order from the apex court, he would have to surrender before the Registrar General after expiry of the said period. (ANI)
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