Justice AS Supehia, Justice RT Vachhani, Gujarat High Court
Writing Scandalous Letters, Issuing Notices To Judges Amounts To Interference With Administration Of Justice: Gujarat High Court Sentences Advocate To 3 Months In Jail
|The Contempt Applications were initiated suo motu by the Gujarat High Court against the contemnor, Devesh Bhatt, an advocate practicing in the High Court as well as in the Courts of State Judiciary.
The Gujarat High Court has sentenced an Advocate to 3 months’ imprisonment for levelling reckless and scandalous allegations against the Chief Justice, Judges and Judicial Officers. The High Court held that writing scandalous letters, communications, and issuing legal and public notices to the Judges and the Chief Justice amounts to interference with the administration of justice.
The Contempt Applications before the High Court were initiated suo motu by the High Court against the single contemnor, Devesh Bhatt, an advocate practicing in the Gujarat High Court as well as in the Courts of State Judiciary. The Bar Council of Gujarat (BCG) had debarred the contemnor from practicing in any court, due to his misconduct of levelling reckless and scandalous allegations against the Chief Justices and Judges of the Court and also against the Judicial Officers.
The Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice R. T. Vachhani held, “Writing scandalous letters, communications, and issuing legal and public notices to the Hon’ble Judges and the Hon’ble Chief Justice amounts to interference with the administration of justice and pending judicial proceedings, constituting “criminal contempt” under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.”
Senior Advocate Asim J Pandya represented the Applicant while Advocate Kurven K Desai represented the Respondent.
Factual Background
There was a voluminous record of reckless and scandalous allegations levelled by Devesh Bhatt against a particular Judge or Judicial Officers in the proceedings wherever he filed, either before the High Court or before any other forum. This modus operandi of browbeating the presiding Judges was adopted by him in almost every court in which he filed the proceedings. The Contemnor had issued notices for the initiation of contempt proceedings and criminal proceedings against the Chief Justice and the Judges. Allegations of corruption were also raised by him.
Numerous orders have been passed by the High Court against the contemnor. The order sheets reflect that, bailable warrants, as well as non-bailable warrants, were issued intermittently to secure his presence. He was arrested and also remained in jail. He was also directed to deposit a sum of Rs 5 lakh as security for remaining present in the proceeding as and when it would be listed.
Arguments
The amicus curiae submitted that strict action must be taken against the contemnor, as despite numerous opportunities to mend his ways, he neither tendered an apology nor showed any improvement.
However, it was the case of the contemnor that since the proceedings have been ongoing for the last 15 years and considering the health of the contemnor, leniency may be shown to him. It was submitted that the acts committed by the contemnor do not directly interfere with the administration of justice.
Reasoning
The Bench noted that the documents on record and the orders passed against the contemnor suggested that he had not only indulged in boisterous behaviour but had systematically undertaken a campaign with ill motive to demean and lower the majesty of this Court by making scandalous and libellous allegations against the Judges, Chief Justice of the Court and the Judicial Officers.
“The order sheets reflect that the contemnor was informed, through various orders, about his unwarranted conduct and he was put to notice as to why the contempt proceedings should not be initiated. This is akin to a charge, sufficient to satisfy the requirements of a fair procedure”, it further added.
The Bench noticed that despite ample opportunities offered to him during the proceedings, he had not tendered any apology and, on the contrary, had continued his contemptuous conduct. “His acts of filing a criminal complaint against the amicus curiae, seeking prosecution of Hon’ble Judges, and publishing public notices in the newspapers naming the Hon’ble Judges and Hon’ble Chief Justice of this Court unquestionably amount to interference with the course of administration of justice, tends to lower the dignity and majesty of this Court, prejudice court proceedings, obstruct officers of the Court, and abuse the process of the Court, bringing disrepute or disrespect to the courts”, it said.
As per the Bench, the contemnor had committed both civil and criminal contempt. By disobeying various orders passed by this Court to conduct proceedings, and violating his Undertaking to appear in the proceedings, he had committed contempt of Court as defined under Section 2(b), which defines “civil contempt”. “Criminal contempt” is defined under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. “All ingredients of Sections 2(b) and 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, are satisfied in the present case”, it held.
The Bench thus ordered that the contemner be sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for three months. The Bench also directed that the amount of Rs. 5,00,000 with accrued interest already deposited by the contemnor, shall be forfeited for breach of the undertaking given by him to this Court. A cost of Rs 1 lakh under Rule 21 of the Contempt of Courts (Gujarat High Court) Rules, 1984 has also been imposed.
Cause Title: Suo Motu v. Devesh Bhatt & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2025:GUJHC:43937-DB)
Appearance
Applicant: Senior Advocate Asim J Pandya
Respondent: Advocate Kurven K Desai, APP Vrunda Shah