The Supreme Court closed criminal contempt proceedings against YouTuber Ajay Shukla after he submitted an unconditional apology for allegedly scandalous remarks against a former apex court judge. The Court warned that any similar conduct in the future would attract “severe consequences.”
The Supreme Court of India on Monday closed the suo motu criminal contempt proceedings that had been initiated against Chandigarh-based YouTuber and Editor-in-Chief of Varprad Media, Ajay Shukla, for allegedly making scandalous and defamatory remarks against a former judge of the apex court.
A Bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma disposed of the case after Shukla tendered an unconditional apology before the Court through his counsel, Advocate Eesha Bakshi. Taking note of the apology, the Court decided to close the proceedings but warned the respondent to exercise caution in the future.
While disposing of the matter, the Bench observed that Shukla had assured the Court that he would be careful about his conduct going forward. The Court made it clear that any repetition of such acts could attract strict action. The Bench stated,
“However, Respondent No. 1 wants to be cautious in future. Any recurrence of conduct or complaint would attract severe consequences.”
The contempt case originated from a video uploaded on the YouTube channel “The Principle,” which is run by Varprad Media. In the video, Shukla had allegedly made scandalous allegations against former Supreme Court judge Bela M. Trivedi.
Taking serious note of the content of the video, the Supreme Court had earlier initiated suo motu contempt proceedings on May 30, 2025. The Bench at that time comprised then Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai, Justice A. G. Masih and Justice A. S. Chandurkar.
During the earlier hearing, the Court observed that the statements made in the video were capable of damaging the reputation of the judiciary. The Bench had emphasised that although the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, the right is not absolute and is subject to reasonable restrictions. The Court had said,
“No doubt that the Constitution of India guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. However, such right is subject to reasonable restrictions. A person cannot be permitted to make allegations which are in the nature of defaming a Judge of this Court or any other Court and also which are contemptuous in nature, that attempt to bring disrepute to the institution of the judiciary,”.
As part of the contempt proceedings, the Court had issued notices not only to Shukla but also to the video-sharing platform YouTube. Notices were also issued to the Attorney General for India and the Solicitor General of India seeking their assistance in the matter. The Court had also passed an interim direction ordering YouTube to remove the video clip containing the allegedly objectionable remarks.
After Shukla submitted an unconditional apology before the Court, the Bench on Monday decided to close the case while reiterating that similar conduct in the future would invite serious consequences.
Notably, in 2025, then Chief Justice of India B. R. Gavai had expressed strong concern over the statements made in the video. During the earlier proceedings, he had remarked,
“Mr. Shukla has made some very scandalous observations against judges of this court..widely published on YouTube are likely to bring disrepute to the august institution of judiciary..”.
The Court was also informed that the remarks were serious in nature. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had also addressed the Court during the hearing and said,
“It is very serious..”.
The Supreme Court had asked both the Attorney General and the Solicitor General to assist it in examining the issue. The matter was scheduled to be taken up again after the period of partial court working days.
Importantly, the Supreme Court had not made any specific reference to the detailed statements made by the journalist in its order. However, Shukla, who is the Editor-in-Chief of Varprad Media, had allegedly made remarks about Justice Surya Kant in the video.
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In the controversial video, while referring to a decision by a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant granting interim bail to Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Shukla had said,
“This Judge, who has perverted justice, has apparently been compromised with power. Why because he was appointed Advocate General of Haryana with the favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). During Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, he was appointed a High Court Judge, and subsequently, with Narendra Modi’s favour, he became the Chief Justice of the High Court and then a Judge of the Supreme Court….”.
Shukla had also suggested that the alleged influence on Justice Kant could be seen from his judicial decisions. While referring to Kunwar Vijay Shah, he had said,
“In a similar situation, a minister from Madhya Pradesh, who uses extremely abusive language in his videos, which are publicly available, labels a dedicated army officer, Sofia Qureshi, from a patriotic family, as a sister of terrorists and Pakistani terrorists, and nothing happens to him….”.
Continuing with his criticism, Shukla further stated,
“Justice Surya Kant gives lecture to the minister and passes order as he wanted. Now you understand, the minister will not be arrested even for a day. Nothing happens. This is the state of affairs. This is the nature of justice. When such injustices are in place, what you would expect for….”.
Following these developments and after considering the unconditional apology submitted by Shukla, the Supreme Court finally closed the contempt proceedings while cautioning him against making such statements in the future.
Case Title:
In Re: Scandalous Remarks Made by Mr. Ajay Shukla
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