Gujarat High Court closes contempt of court case against Senior Advocate Percy Kavina

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday closed the suo motu contempt proceedings initiated against Senior Advocate Percy Kavina for using "unparliamentary" language against a sitting judge of the High Court..Kavina had, during the hearing of a case earlier this week, told the judge on the bench:"Arre sahab, kai toh sharam rakho (hey sir, have some shame)."Contempt of court proceedings were initiated against him after that. When the the contempt case came up for hearing today before a division bench of Justices AS Supehia and MR Mengdey, the Court remarked that Kavina, after being conferred the senior gown, seemed to have turned ignorant about the responsibilities and duties attached to such an honor.The Court said that he should remember that lawyers play an important part in the administration of justice and underlined that in today's era, any contumacious act committed in a court may not remain confined within the precincts of the institution but can travel beyond and be noticed in any place.Further, the Court stated that any act which is deleterious to the majesty and dignity of the Court cannot be accepted, even if it occurred on the spur of the moment."If an act that dents the magnificence or self-esteem of the institution goes unnoticed, it will be destructive to the rule of law, and the institution will collapse," the Court added.The Court then noted that the Senior Counsel had tendered an earnest and sincere unconditional apology and had also apologised to Justice Devan Desai, against whom he used 'disparaging language'.Taking the apology into account, the Court decided not to continue the proceedings. However, it expressed hope that the Senior Counsel would not repeat similar conduct."We do not wish to carry the matter further, and we accept his unconditional apology. We hope that he maintains a dignified behavior before the court and does not repeat similar conduct since in the future we will not be so benevolent. We hope that wisdom prevails upon him, as this court will also be looking forward to his valuable contributions to the legal field," the Court said..The proceedings against Kavina were initiated on July 10. While initiating suo motu action against the senior lawyer, the Court had noted in its order,"The senior counsel used unparliamentary language by saying 'arre sahab, kai toh sharam rakho' (hey sir, have some shame). Apart from using the aforesaid expressions, we have also found that he used disparaging language against the single-judge, which has lowered the majesty and dignity of this institution."