Delhi High Court accepts ToI’s unconditional apology in Justice Gita Mittal controversy

The Delhi High Court yesterday accepted the unconditional apology tendered by Times of India in the controversy surrounding the article on Justice Gita Mittal..ToI has also agreed to publish an apology on the same page the controversial news item was published..The court was hearing a contempt case against the Times of India and its reporter Abhinav Garg. The Bench comprised of GS Sistani and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal JJ..The controversy had erupted after an article was published by Times of India about a disgruntled litigant who had written a letter to Chief Justice of India TS Thakur complaining about the alleged “tardy disposal of cases” by Justice Gita Mittal..The complainant, who claimed to be a litigant suffering as a result of Justice Mittal’s alleged slow disposal, had added in the letter a number of facts and figures supporting his claim. These included a complete list of disposals by the judge in January and February along with the total number of pages dictated as orders/judgments during this period, as retrieved from the Delhi High Court website..The letter also alleged that Justice Mittal sat for less than an hour every day, and urged CJI Thakur to intervene and ensure that she sits in court for the full duration of five hours..However, the Delhi High Court Bar Association had jumped to the defence of the judge and passed a resolution demanding an apology from ToI. Subsequently, Supreme Court seniors had also joined the fray and sent a letter to the Editor of ToI, in support of the judge. That letter was endorsed by KK Venugopal, Fali Nariman, Soli Sorabjee, PP Rao, and Indira Jaising, among other Senior Advocates.