Contempt of Court: Delhi HC Sentences Max Group Chairman’s Son to 3 Months in Jail

The Delhi High Court recently sentenced Veer Singh, son of founder and chairman of the Max Group conglomerate Analjit Singh, to three months of simple imprisonment for contempt of court.

A division bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna has also directed the local Station House Officer (SHO) to issue arrest warrants against Singh and initiate the process for issuing a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him.

“From the submissions of the learned counsel for the respondent (Singh), it is evident that he is not willing to purge the contempt by complying with the orders or to address on the sentence, we hereby sentence him for Simple Imprisonment of three months with fine of ₹2,000/-. The SHO, Tilak Marg is directed to issue warrants of arrest against the respondent and shall also get the Look Out circular issued against the respondent,” the bench ordered.

The plea filed by Kinri Dhir, who claims to be Veer Singh’s wife (though Singh denies marrying her), was being considered by the bench regarding the initiation of contempt of court proceedings against Singh for disregarding the court’s orders. It was noted that on June 1, 2023, Singh participated in the proceedings via video conference and assured the court that he would continue to provide maintenance to Dhir, including the transfer of May’s maintenance within 24 hours.

However, Dhir contended that the order had not been followed, a fact acknowledged by Singh’s counsel. Nonetheless, the counsel argued that the contempt petition was not maintainable. When the court directed Singh to appear physically on the next hearing date, his counsel informed the court that Singh was currently not in India and thus unable to attend.

The court observed that Singh’s unwillingness to comply with the orders indicated his refusal to purge the contempt. Consequently, the bench sentenced him to three months of simple imprisonment. The contempt petition is scheduled to be further heard on July 19, 2023.