'Online Abuses Hurled At Superior Courts Cross The Line': Allahabad High Court Warns Netizens Of Strict Contempt Action

The Allahabad High Court recently warned social media users against hurling online abuses directed at the judiciary that go beyond the defence of fair comment or informed criticism of a judgment. A bench of Justice JJ Munir and Justice Pramod Kumar Srivastava added that if the court takes cognizance of such posts in contempt jurisdiction, the same will attract strict legal consequences. "…we do wish to remind the public to be cautious in future, because words that are most unambiguously contumacious, circulate on the social media, which, as and when, taken cognizance of in our contempt jurisdiction, may expose the contemnor to penalties of the law, which the Court may not hesitate to impose", the Court remarked. The Court made this observation, noting with grave concern that, under the guise of freedom of expression, instances of criminal contempt currently "galore on the social media". The bench said that such virtual abuses cross the line of permissible free speech. Briefly put, the bench was dealing with a criminal contempt reference under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, concerning the conduct of an advocate/contemnor [Hari Narayan Pandey] in a Basti district court. While the Court ultimately accepted Pandey's genuine and unconditional apology, it said that instances of criminal contempt galore on social media in the name of freedom of expression, which cross the line. The occasion to make these observations occurred as the Advocate appearing for the High Court submitted that the commission of criminal contempt of Court has become "the order of the day". The bench noted in its order that the concern raised by the HC counsel was certainly not misplaced and had a lot of wisdom to it. The Bench stated that while it was not taking judicial notice of the issue because that would have consequences, it was paying judicial attention to the instances of criminal contempt which galore on social media. The Court categorically said that virtual abuses on media hurled at superior Courts by no means can fall within the fold of fair comment or the informed criticism of a judgment. Regarding the merits of the case, the bench noted that the contemnor had appeared before the bench and he did not justify his words and admitted that he was utterly distressed on the day when the unfortunate incident had happened for his own reasons. The bench also took into account the contemnor's demeanour in Court as he addressed the bench, and it was convinced that “he is a well-groomed member of the Bar, aware of the niceties of the law and etiquette in Court”. "He has put in long years of practice and there is nothing to show that he has indulged in contumacious conduct in the past. He has tendered unconditional apology at the earliest, which the learned Civil Judge accepted, of course, for himself…We are convinced that it was an expression of genuine remorse and not merely a contrivance to escape the consequences of contempt", the bench further remarked as it dropped the proceedings.Case title - In Re vs. Shri Hari Narayan Pandey Advocate 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 94Case Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (AB) 94Click Here To Read/Download Order

'Online Abuses Hurled At Superior Courts Cross The Line': Allahabad High Court Warns Netizens Of Strict Contempt Action

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