The Bombay High Court accepted the apology of a mother, who had sent a WhatsApp message to the judge hearing her appeal related to the custody of her daughter. Justice MM Sathaye asked the woman to not indulge in such attempt or activity to reach out directly to any judge in future.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!
NEW DELHI: The Bombay High Court accepted an apology from a mother who had sent a WhatsApp message to a judge handling her appeal concerning the custody of her young daughter.
Justice MM Sathaye cautioned the woman against attempting to contact judges directly in the future.
The Court had earlier sought an explanation from the woman, questioning why legal action should not be taken against her for such behavior. In response, the woman tendered an apology for her actions.
“Perusal of the affidavit shows that the Appellant has tendered unconditional apology and has offered explanation for her conduct. The Appellant has stated that she was emotionally stressed out and felt helpless at the relevant time and therefore, out of anxiety and desperation for her child, whose custody is in question, an attempt was made to reach out to the Court (M.M. Sathaye, J) directly on WhatsApp mobile number,”
-the Court stated in its December 19 order.
The woman had approached the High Court after a district court granted temporary custody of her six-year-old daughter to her husband. The district court had permitted visitation rights to the mother and allowed her to make video calls to her child.
After Justice Sathaye declined to stay the district court’s order on November 29, the woman reportedly sent a WhatsApp message to the judge’s personal number. Despite her number being blocked, the judge subsequently received additional messages and videos from another number.
During a hearing on December 2, the woman admitted that she had sent the messages. The Court noted that her actions could be interpreted as an attempt to interfere with the administration of justice.
“In my prima facie view, clearly an attempt has been made by the Appellant to over-reach the law to interfere with the administration of Justice and to try to influence the mind of the Judge and this conduct is bordering on the contempt of the Court. This can not be taken lightly. Considering the nature of the impugned order and the relationship between the parties and that the custody of a child was involved, this may be a case of desperate attempt by a mother. However, it is done in a completely inappropriate way.”
The woman’s initial lawyer, Advocate Sunil S Gosavi, expressed strong disapproval of her actions and sought to withdraw from the case.
The Court permitted him to step down as her representative. She then hired a new lawyer, who submitted an affidavit of apology on her behalf.
After considering the affidavit and explanation provided by the woman, the Court decided to take a lenient view and accept her apology.
“Show cause notice issued to the Appellant under order dated 02.12.2024 stands discharged,”
-the Court ordered.
On December 2, Advocate Sunil S Gosavi represented the mother before stepping down. On December 19, Advocates Altaf Khan and Mazar Khan, instructed by Supreya Ghadge, appeared for the mother.
Advocate Naveen Sharma represented the respondent-father throughout the case.
CASE TITLE:
Vaishnavi Caim Sambuddha v Alok Nath Sambuddha.
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on WhatsApp
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
