E-Paper
Criminal contempt, 'taanashahi' judiciary: Delhi HC sentences YouTuber to 6-month jail term
YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja came under the scanner after he uploaded videos on his YouTube channel, which slammed the judicial system.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday sentenced a YouTuber to six months in prison over remarks against the judiciary on his platform.
YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja came under the scanner after he uploaded videos on his YouTube channel, which slammed the judicial system.
In the videos, Pahuja was seen taking interviews of advocates Shiv Narayan Sharma and Deepak Singh, where during the interview, the advocates allegedly made derogatory remarks. As per the court, the advocates apologised for their remarks and stated that they were not told the interviews will be published online.
Adding to this, the court noted that Pahuja made further remarks against the judicial system, stating that "adaalaton ki manmarzi badhti jaa rahi hai" (the arbitrary actions of the courts are increasing and I am not expecting any justice).
Pahuja was also heard saying, "manmarzi ka dusra arth taanashahi hota hai" (the synonym for arbitrariness is dictatorship). Delhi HC added that these remarks were made during the hearings against him.
The sentencing of the YouTuber comes after the Delhi high court found him of contempt of court. Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja imposed a maximum sentence of six months of imprisonment.
A fine of ₹2,000 was also imposed on the YouTuber.
The bench added that Pahuja should "no remorse" for his actions, and stated that his videos were part of public interest advocacy for judicial reforms.
"In fact, he maintains that what he did was with the intent of improving the judicial system. He, in fact, compounds his contempt by making further scandalous submissions before this court and thus, evidently, he is neither repentant nor deserves any mercy," the bench observed.
The court asked Pahuja to surrender before the registrar general after 60 days if a suspension order is not passed by the Supreme Court. This comes after Pahuja expressed his intention to approach the apex court.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
