The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced a YouTuber to six months in prison for comments against the judiciary on his platform.
YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja came under the scanner after he uploaded videos on his YouTube channel, in which he criticized the judicial system.
In the videos, Pahuja was seen interviewing lawyers Shiv Narayan Sharma and Deepak Singh, during which the advocates allegedly made derogatory remarks during the interview. According to the court, the lawyers apologized for their statements and stated that they were not informed that the interviews would be published online.
In addition, the court noted that Pahuja had made other remarks against the judicial system, saying: “Adaalaton ki manmarzi badhti jaa rahi hai“(The arbitrary procedures of the courts are increasing and I do not expect any justice.)
Pahuja was also heard saying:Manmarzi ka dusra arth taanashahi hota hai(A synonym for arbitrariness is dictatorship.) The Delhi HC added that these statements were made during the hearings against him.
The YouTuber’s sentencing comes after the Delhi High Court found him guilty of contempt of court. Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices Naveen Chawla and Ravinder Dodija imposed a maximum jail term of six months.
a fine $2000 has also been imposed on YouTube users.
The bench added that Pahuja should not “regret” his actions and stated that his videos were part of public interest advocacy for judicial reforms.
“In fact, he maintains that what he did was with the intention of improving the judicial system. In fact, he is compounding his contempt by making more scandalous pleas before this court and, therefore, is clearly neither repentant nor deserving of any mercy.”
The court asked Pahuja to surrender before the Registrar General after 60 days if the Supreme Court does not issue a suspension order. This comes after Pahuja expressed his intention to approach the Supreme Court.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
