HC issues contempt notice to Satish Salian’s lawyer for making defamatory remarks against judge

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Satish Salian’s lawyer, advocate Nilesh Ojha, for allegedly defaming a high court judge during a press conference earlier this month. The court also ordered a Marathi news channel and YouTube to take down videos with Ojha’s comments immediately and also restrained them from uploading them in the future.

“The statements prima facie constitute criminal contempt. We direct [the] registry to issue notice to Mr Ojha”, said a five-judge bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justices AS Chandurkar, MS Sonak, Ravindra Ghuge, and AS Gadkari. “The statement seems to interfere with the due course of the proceedings and lower its image. The statement is ex-facie contemptuous and is an interference in the administration of justice,” the bench added.

During a press conference on April 1, Ojha allegedly made defamatory remarks against a high court judge before whom his client Satish Salian’s petition was listed for hearing on April 2. Salian has approached the high court seeking an investigation into the June 2020 death of his daughter Disha Salian.

Expressing its disapproval over Ojha’s choice to elude the proper legal recourse to address his reservations about the judge, the bench initiated a suo moto (on its own) contempt case against the advocate. “He was under obligation to make submissions seeking to recuse the judge. However, instead of making a submission on April 2, he held a press conference,” the bench said.

“The statements in the press conference appear to have been made deliberately to scandalise the authority of this court and also a sitting judge. They are scandalous and defamatory allegations,” the bench added.

The bench scheduled the next hearing in the matter for April 29. It directed YouTube, the news channel, the Bar Council of India, the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, the Bombay Bar Association, and the Advocates Association of Western India to be made party respondents to the suo motu contempt petition.

Earlier, Satish Salian alleged in his petition that his daughter Disha was gang-raped and murdered as part of a conspiracy involving several influential figures, and sought a fresh probe into her death. The case was listed to be heard on April 2 before a division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale. However, later, the case was assigned to another bench.