NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday closed contempt proceedings against film director Vivek Agnihotri for his posts on Twitter in October 2018 that alleged bias by a high court judge who quashed activist Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest order.
A bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Vikas Mahajan accepted Agnihotri’s apology after he turned up in person in the court and told the bench that he had “utmost respect” for the judiciary.
Agnihotri filed an affidavit in December lastapologising for his remarks on Twitter against justice S Muralidhar but was told by the bench that he will need to apologise in person since “remorse cannot always be expressed by way of an affidavit”. Justice Muralidhar was earlier a judge of the Delhi high court and is currently the chief justice of the Orissa high court.
On Monday, the bench accepted Agnihotri’s apology and discharged him.
“Vivek Agnihotri the alleged contemnor who is arrayed as Respondent No. 4 is present before the court in person and reiterates his remorse as well as tenders an unconditional apology for the alleged offensive statement made by him on Twitter,” the bench said.
{{/usCountry}}“Vivek Agnihotri the alleged contemnor who is arrayed as Respondent No. 4 is present before the court in person and reiterates his remorse as well as tenders an unconditional apology for the alleged offensive statement made by him on Twitter,” the bench said.
{{/usCountry}}“In view of the foregoing and particular circumstance that Vivek Agnihotri has the utmost respect for the institution of the judiciary and did not intend to wilfully offend the majesty of the court, the notice to show cause as to why contempt should not be issued to him is recalled. Vivek Agnihotri is discharged, “ it added.
The bench cautioned Vivek Agnihotri to be careful in the future, and remarked in course of Monday’s hearing, that Twitter has become a source of misery for many.
While hearing a connected criminal contempt case filed by the Delhi high court bar association (DHCBA) against S Gurumurthy, the editor of the Chennai-based weekly ‘Thuglak’ magazine, justice Mridul said: “What is relevant is that every citizen should know that you must be careful. We invite just and fair criticism. It’s how we function”.
The bench underlined that the “dignity of courts does not come from what people have to say about the judiciary but from the duties the courts discharge”.