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This is an archive article published on April 8, 2025
Bombay HC initiates contempt proceedings against Satish Salian’s lawyer
The Bombay High Court bench initiated suo motu contempt proceedings after it perused a video clip of a press conference held by Nilesh Ojha -- representing late Disha Salian's father Satish Salian -- on April 1. The court observed that his statements were "scandalous and defamatory".
Disha Salian’s father, Satish Salian and the lawyers come out of the High Court in Mumbai.
(Express Photo/Sankhadeep Banerjee)
The five-judge bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against advocate Nilesh Ojha representing late Disha Salian’s father Satish Salian for his “scandalous and defamatory” remarks during the press conference held on April 1 against a sitting HC judge.
The bench passed an order after it perused a video clip of a press conference held by Ojha on April 1 in connection with a writ petition by Satish Salian seeking a fresh probe into his daughter’s death.
As an interim measure, the larger or full bench also directed YouTube and a Marathi news channel to remove the concerned video and also restrained them and Ojha from circulating, recreating, republishing or in any manner disseminating the said video during the pendency of the contempt proceedings.
The court observed that “statements made in a press conference with regard to recusal of the sitting judge appeared to have been made deliberately to scandalise authority of the court and a judge of the court”. The court also took notice of alleged remarks made in the same press conference video against a former CJ of the HC.
The full bench also noted that while the lawyer was under obligation to make submissions with regard to recusal of the concerned bench on April 2, “as it is for the judge to recuse himself or herself from hearing the matter,” he held a press conference on April 1 and made the concerned remarks.
“Act of publishing interviews prima facie amounts to scandalising this court by making scandalous and defamatory allegations against the judge of this court. The statement also lowers the authority of the court and such allegations also interfere with due course of judicial proceedings,” it added.
The bench further noted that the statements made and uploaded on YouTube and the news channel “certainly amount to causing obstructions in the administration of justice”. It added that statements by the lawyer are “ex facie contemptuous and amount to interference in the course of judicial proceedings”.
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“We are satisfied that the statements made by advocate Ojha prima facie constitute criminal contempt under The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. We therefore direct the registry to issue notice to Ojha under Rule 9 (1) read with Rule 8 of Contempt of Court (Bombay High Court) Rules, 1994,” the HC held.
The court referred to the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 and Information Technology (Intermediary guidelines) Rules, 2011. “Considering the scandalous and contemptuous nature of the offending video, as an interim measure”, it directed the concerned parties to remove the video forthwith and restrained them from republishing the same pending the contempt proceedings.
It also added central and state governments, YouTube, Bar Council of India (BCI), Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa (BCMG), and other bar associations as party respondents and issued notice to them.
The bench said it will consider Ojha’s objection against making others as respondents at the next hearing on April 29.
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