Delhi High Court orders man to sit in court for a day as punishment for contempt of court

The Delhi High Court recently convicted a man for criminal contempt of court and ordered him to remain present in the court throughout the day as punishment [Court on its own motion v Pradeep Aggarwal]..The Bench also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on contemnor Pradeep Aggarwal. Aggarwal was convicted by the court for seeking money from the owner of an alleged illegal construction. He had filed a petition before the High Court against the construction and sought money to withdraw the plea. It was revealed that he was trying to drive down the price of the property too because he wanted to buy it..A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma said that Sharma’s conduct showed utter disregard and abuse of the Court’s process which cannot be condoned.“The law on contempt serves to protect the authority and dignity of the Court against acts that grossly disrespect or impede its functioning. Contemnor’s acts of filing of the writ petition for personal gain is clearly an attempt to leverage the judicial system for his personal gain. Such acts not only challenge the authority of the Court but also undermine public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the judicial process,” the Court said.On punishment, the Bench took a lenient view as Sharma tendered an apology and expressed remorse.“The Contemnor is accordingly sentenced to remain in the Court till the rising of the Court today. In addition, the Contemnor shall deposit a sum of ₹1 lakh to the Delhi High Court Legal Service Committee,” the Court ordered. .Advocate Rajesh Mahajan appeared as amicus curiae in the matter.Advocates Rahul Kr Singh, Rahul Kumar Kanoujia, Sanjay Prasad Verma, Sukriti Verma and Shashi Bhushan Singh appeared for contemnor Pradeep Aggarwal.