Delhi HC Discharges Man Convicted for Defaming Judges on Social Media

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan

The Delhi High Court has discharged a man convicted of defaming judges on social media platforms after accepting his unconditional apology. The Court has also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on contemnor Uday Pal Singh.

A division bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain accepted the unconditional apology tendered by the defendant and discharged him from the contempt proceedings. “The contemnor has tendered an unconditional apology before this court, stating that he was unable to estimate the outcome of the video, which was uploaded by him on August 24, 2022,” the bench said.

The contemnor submitted that he is ready and willing to deposit Rs one lakh for welfare purposes to compensate for the public time wasted in the present proceedings. The bench directed that the contemnor shall, within two weeks, deposit the amount with the Registry of this Court. The funds will be distributed as follows: Rs 25,000 each to the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, Delhi Indigent & Disabled Lawyers Fund, Nirmal Chhaya for Welfare of Children and Destitute Women, and the Bharat Ke Veer Fund.

On May 3, 2024, the High Court convicted Uday Pal Singh of contempt of court. Following this order, the contemnor filed an affidavit stating that at the time of uploading the video on his social media handles-Facebook and Twitter on August 24, 2022, his intention was neither to defame the Court nor its judges, nor to scandalize them or diminish the Court’s authority. He claimed the video was uploaded merely to express his opinion regarding the progress of the case.