Journalism of Courage
Contempt of court case: Supreme Court suspends 6-month sentence on YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja
The High Court had also initiated contempt proceedings against the lawyers, but dropped it after they tendered unconditional apologies.
The High Court imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 under the Contempt of Courts Act, failing which an additional month of imprisonment will be imposed.
The Supreme Court on Thursday suspended a Delhi High Court (HC) sentence on YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja, convicted for criminal contempt after he “scandalised… and lowered the authority of the Court” through some of his videos.
Issuing a notice on Pahuja’ plea challenging the May 16, 2026, HC order convicting and sentencing him to six months’ simple imprisonment, a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Sheel Nagu also directed that he be released from custody.
The case dates back to 2025, when the HC had taken cognisance of a reference made by a civil judge at Shahdara court, Charu Asiwal, regarding contentious videos and banners on Pahuja’s YouTube channel. Pajuja’s videos allegedly showed lawyers making “some objectionable and derogatory remarks against judicial officers and the judicial institution as a whole”.
The HC had also initiated contempt proceedings against the lawyers, but dropped it after they tendered unconditional apologies.
In its May 16 order, the HC had said, “The contemnor, by his acts, has scandalised… and lowered the authority of the Court. The contemnor shows no regret for the same. He also does not suggest any course correction. In fact, he maintains that what he did was with the intent of improving the judicial system… By not imposing adequate punishment on him, we may encourage him to repeat these acts in future and to embolden him in doing the same.”
The HC imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 under the Contempt of Courts Act, failing which an additional month of imprisonment will be imposed.
It had, however, suspended the sentence for 60 days after Pahuja said he planned to challenge the HC’s April verdict that held him guilty of contempt, as well as the May 16 order.
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Pahuja, while terming his conduct to be bonafide, had told the court that “he should not be made to stop criticising judges by invoking the contempt jurisdiction against him.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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