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Synopsis

The Delhi High Court, recently, held a man guilty of contempt for filing a writ petition for personal gain and sentenced him to remain in the court until its adjournment while imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh for such contempt. The bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Amit Sharma considered the man's medical condition, age, and expression of remorse and apology in their order.

“The Contemnor is accordingly sentenced to remain in the Court till the rising of the Court today. In addition, the Contemnor shall deposit a sum of Rs.1 lakh to the Delhi High Court Legal Service Committee”, the court stated.

A man, Pradeep Aggarwal, had filed a writ petition seeking action against government authorities and two private individuals over alleged unauthorized construction on certain lands. The private individuals filed an application with the single judge, presenting conversations indicating that the man demanded Rs. 50 lakhs to withdraw the petition.

The bench addressed the suo motu criminal contempt reference, originating from an order by a single judge in December 2022.  Upon finding the man guilty of contempt, the court noted that status reports from the Delhi Police indicated an alarming situation where the man negotiated to buy the property and attempted to drive down its price.

The court observed “The fact that the Contemnor was willing to negotiate and extract money from the Respondents for the withdrawal of the writ petition is, in the opinion of this Court, completely contemptuous. It shows utter disregard and abuse of the Court’s process, which the Court cannot condone”. 

The court noted that the conduct of Pradeep did not merit leniency. Pradeep also obtained an interim order from the Court based on various allegations made in the writ petition. Such behavior could not be condoned.

The court noted that such cases exemplified the principles underlying the law on criminal contempt as outlined in Section 2(c) of the Act, particularly the necessity to uphold the integrity of the judiciary and the legal process. The law on contempt aims to protect the authority and dignity of the Court against acts that grossly disrespect or impede its functioning. Pradeep’s actions of filing the writ petition for personal gain were clearly an attempt to exploit the judicial system for his benefit. Such actions not only challenged the authority of the Court but also undermined public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the judicial process.

Therefore, the Court found Pradeep Aggarwal, guilty of contempt of court under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. However, considering his medical condition and age, who had also expressed remorse and apologized for his conduct, the Court took a lenient view regarding the sentence to be imposed. He was sentenced to remain in the Court until its rising on that day. Additionally, he was ordered to deposit a sum of Rs.1 lakh to the Delhi High Court Legal Service Committee.

Case Title: Court On Its Own Motion v Pradeep Aggarwal (2024:DHC:5031)