SC suspends 6-month jail for YouTuber in judiciary contempt case

The Supreme Court has suspended the six-month simple imprisonment sentence for YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja in a criminal contempt case. The Delhi High Court had sentenced him for scandalising the judiciary, noting his lack of regret and further remarks.

The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended the six-month simple imprisonment sentence imposed by the Delhi High Court on YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja for criminal contempt and scandalising the judiciary.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu issued notice on Pahuja’s appeal and directed that he be released from custody immediately.

Delhi High Court's Observations

The Delhi High Court had sentenced Pahuja to the maximum punishment of six months’ imprisonment, along with a Rs 2,000 fine in each contempt case, with the sentences to run concurrently.

The High Court had observed that Pahuja showed “no regret” and made further “scandalous” remarks against the judicial system even during the sentencing hearing.

The High Court had noted the YouTuber made statements that he expected no justice from Indian courts and likened judicial arbitrariness to “dictatorship”.

The High Court on May 20 had recorded that Pahuja made remarks against the judicial system, stating that "adaalaton ki manmarzi badhti jaa rahi hai" and adding that "manmarzi ka dusra arth taanashahi hota hai".

It observed that the contemnor had neither expressed regret nor indicated any willingness to reform his conduct. The High Court had said that instead of showing remorse, he compounded the contempt by making additional scandalous submissions during the hearing itself.

It had further held that leniency in such circumstances could embolden him to repeat similar acts in future.

Since Pahuja expressed his intention to approach the Supreme Court, the High Court had suspended the sentence for 60 days to enable him to approach the top court.

Advocates Manish Jain, Vikash Kumar Verma and Aditya Kaushik appeared for the YouTuber before the apex court. (ANI)

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