Allahabad High Court Drops Contempt Proceedings Against Advocate Who Accused Judge Of Working Under 'Govt Pressure'

A bench of Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Jai Krishna Upadhyay closed the matter after accepting the unconditional apology tendered by the advocate.

The incident occurred on February 12, 2026, during the hearing of a bail application. The advocate in question was appearing on behalf of the accused.

During the hearing, the court directed the state counsel to file a counter-affidavit along with the complete evidence, injury reports, and statements within three weeks.

Following this, the advocate raised his voice in open court. The order recorded the advocate as having stated:

"Why are you calling for a counter affidavit in this case? You do not have the courage to seek explanation from the concerned Investigating Officer who, till date, has not recorded the statement of the injured. You (Judge) have no authority to pass any order against the Investigating Officer. It appears that you are working under the pressure of the Government."

A bench of Justice Santosh Rai had found the advocate's conduct "highly objectionable, scandalous and derogatory" and noted that it prima facie fell within the ambit of 'criminal contempt' as defined under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

Read more about the HC order here : Allahabad High Court Refers Advocate For Criminal Contempt Who Accused Judge Of 'Working Under Govt Pressure'

During the contempt hearing, the advocate appeared before the division bench and filed an affidavit tendering an unconditional apology and stated that he was very apologetic and assured the bench that such an incident would never occur again.

Considering the unconditional apology, the Court opined that the criminal contempt proceeding deserved to be dropped. Accordingly, the proceedings were dropped.