New Delhi, July 20: The Supreme Court has heard the plea of YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja, who was sentenced to six months in prison for criminal contempt by the Delhi High Court. The bench, led by Chief Justice (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, refused to grant immediate relief and advised the petitioner to approach the Delhi High Court for assistance.
During the hearing, the bench took a stern stance on Pahuja’s arguments. The Chief Justice expressed, “We sympathize with you, but you are making allegations of corruption against judicial officers without any solid evidence. Are you aware of the impact such allegations have on social media? A judicial officer’s entire career is at stake, and they have to live with these accusations.”
The Supreme Court clarified that it is not currently considering the merits of the case. The court noted that Pahuja has already been convicted for contempt and has surrendered to serve his sentence. Therefore, granting immediate relief at this stage would not be appropriate.
The bench mentioned that the Delhi High Court had previously accepted his plea for suspension of the sentence. However, after his request for an extension to the surrender deadline was denied, he complied with the order. Consequently, any further relief regarding the suspension of his sentence should be sought from the Delhi High Court.
The Supreme Court also indicated that Pahuja has filed an appeal challenging his conviction under the Contempt of Courts Act. However, due to technical deficiencies in the petition, it has not yet been listed for hearing.
Gulshan Pahuja runs a YouTube channel called ‘Fight 4 Judicial Reforms.’ He faced allegations that some videos uploaded on his channel contained derogatory comments against the judiciary and certain judicial officers. Three judicial officers filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking action for criminal contempt based on these videos.
It was alleged that Pahuja questioned the functioning of judicial officers in his videos. His channel also featured interviews with two lawyers, who allegedly made offensive remarks against the judiciary.
Later, both lawyers unconditionally apologized, stating that they had not authorized the posting of the videos online and were unaware of the objectionable titles or banners associated with them. The Delhi High Court accepted their apologies and closed the proceedings against them.
Meanwhile, Gulshan Pahuja defended his comments as part of a campaign for judicial reforms, questioning the functioning of the courts.
During the proceedings, the Delhi High Court remarked that if strict measures are not enforced in such cases, it may encourage further derogatory comments against the judiciary in the future. Based on this reasoning, the High Court found Pahuja guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced him to six months in prison.
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