Supreme Court Closes Contempt Case Against YouTuber Ajay Shukla After Unconditional Apology

The bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma disposed of the matter after Shukla tendered an unconditional apology through his counsel, Advocate Eesha Bakshi.

While closing the proceedings, the Court cautioned the respondent against repeating such conduct in the future. “However, Respondent No. 1 wants to be cautious in future. Any recurrence of conduct or complaint would attract severe consequences,” the Bench observed.

The case stemmed from a video uploaded on the YouTube channel “The Principle,” run by Varprad Media, in which Shukla allegedly made scandalous allegations against former Supreme Court judge Bela M. Trivedi.

Taking note of the content, the Supreme Court had initiated suo motu contempt proceedings on May 30, 2025. The Bench at the time comprised then Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai, Justice A. G. Masih and Justice A. S. Chandurkar.

The Court had observed that the allegations made in the video were likely to bring disrepute to the judiciary.

“No doubt that the Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. However, such right is subject to reasonable restrictions. A person cannot be permitted to make allegations which are in the nature of defaming a Judge of this Court or any other Court and also which are contemptuous in nature, that attempt to bring disrepute to the institution of the judiciary,” the Bench had said.

During the proceedings, the Court had issued notices to Shukla, the video-sharing platform YouTube, as well as to the Attorney General for India and the Solicitor General of India. It had also passed an interim direction ordering YouTube to take down the video clip containing the alleged remarks.

After the contemnor tendered an unconditional apology, the Court on Monday brought the proceedings to a close, while warning that any similar conduct in the future would invite serious consequences.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was also present in court had added, "It is very serious..". Court has asked the Attorney General and Solicitor General to assist it in the matter which will now be taken up after the partial working days are over.

Notably, the Supreme Court had made no reference to the statements made by the journalist. Shukla, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Varpad Media has allegedly made remarks against Justice Surya Kant.

In the contemptuous video, referring to Justice Kant led bench's recent decision to grant interim bail to Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad Shukla has said, "This Judge, who has perverted justice, has apparently been compromised with power. Why because he was appointed Advocate General of Haryana with the favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). During Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government, he was appointed a High Court Judge, and subsequently, with Narendra Modi's favour, he became the Chief Justice of the High Court and then a Judge of the Supreme Court....".

Additionally, Shukla had said the influence on Justice Kant is evident from his decision. He added referring to BJP leader Kunwar Vijay Shah, "In a similar situation, a minister from Madhya Pradesh, who uses extremely abusive language in his videos, which are publicly available, labels a dedicated army officer, Sofia Qureshi, from a patriotic family, as a sister of terrorists and Pakistani terrorists, and nothing happens to him....".

"Justice Surya Kant gives lecture to the minister and passes order as he wanted. Now you understand, the minister will not be arrested even for a day. Nothing happens. This is the state of affairs. This is the nature of justice. When such injustices are in place, what you would expect for....", Shukla had further said.