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SC sets aside lawyer's sentence over Facebook posts

Team SoOLEGAL 16 Nov 2018 10:04am

SC sets aside lawyer's sentence over Facebook posts

The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Punjab and Haryana HC of awarding one-month imprisonment to an advocate for posting objectionable posts on his Facebook wall about the judges. 

While setting aside the order, a division bench comprising justices A K Sikri and R Subhash Reddy of the apex court held that it was not a fit case where action under the Contempt of Court Act was warranted. "We have gone through the matter in detail and are of the view that it was not a case where the contempt action should have been taken against the appellant, who is an advocate. We, thus, allow this appeal and set aside the impugned order passed by the HC," observed the Supreme Court bench in its order released on Wednesday. 

On May 31, a division bench comprising Justice M M S Bedi and Justice Hari Pal Verma of the Punjab and Haryana HC had sentenced one-month imprisonment to Narnaul-based lawyer Maneesh Vashisht. The lawyer was held guilty of using derogatory and contemptuous remarks against the high court judge in relation to his case. 

The High Court had also found Vashisht in habit of filing complaints against judicial officers, who came in contact with him during the course of professional routine.

The lawyer had requested the court to show leniency before sentencing him but refused to apologize for his act.

While sentencing one-month jail term to the lawyer, the high court had held that in case of punishment was not awarded to a person "who scandalizes and lowers the authority of not only the court and the judiciary in the eyes of general public, the faith of the general public in the judiciary will be shattered".

In its 67-page judgment, the bench, however, had suspended the implementation of the conviction order giving the advocate time to challenge the order before the apex court. Aggrieved from the orders, Vashisht had challenged the order before the Supreme Court.



Tagged: Supreme Court   Facebook posts   Punjab and Haryana HC   Facebook wall   justices A K Sikri   Justice R Subhash Reddy   high Court  
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