New Delhi: The Delhi High Court last week issued a contempt notice against an Indian woman residing in Australia who hurled abuse at the presiding judge during a virtual hearing earlier this month.
“Ye s***i kya kar rahi hai, What the f*** is going on in this court,” one Anita Kumari Gupta said while appearing from Sydney (Australia) in the virtual hearing on 10 January.
The court was hearing a 2011 civil suit filed by Gupta against one Ved Bhushan and others relating to inheritance rights of the petitioner’s family property at Pusa Road in Delhi. The case was at final arguments — that is, the stage before a decision is pronounced — when the incident occurred.
According to her order, uploaded Friday, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi HC has directed the Sydney resident to appear physically before it in April.
The court also directed the Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi to impound Gupta’s passport and visa on her arrival in India, and the High Commission of India in Australia to communicate the order to the accused.
Justice Bansal noted that the comments were a clear act of contempt and made with a disregard for the dignity of the high court.
“Such aforesaid derogatory remarks made by the plaintiff/Anita Kumari Gupta to denigrate the court are patently contemptuous and show the complete disregard to the dignity of the court,” the HC order said.
During the hearing, at the request of both parties, the HC notified the next date of the hearing as 16 April. However, soon after the date was notified, Gupta started hurling abuses at the presiding judge.
In response, the HC issued a show-cause notice to Gupta requiring her to prove why action should not be taken against her.
“Accordingly, the show-cause notice is issued to the plaintiff/Anita Kumari Gupta, who is stated to be, at present, living in Sydney, Australia, as to why she be not punished under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971,” the court order said.
Contempt can be punished with imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to Rs 2,000. But the court also has the power to discharge the accused if an apology is made.
Akshat Jain is a student of the National Law University, Delhi, and an intern with ThePrint.
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