The Supreme Court stayed the contempt conviction of a woman sentenced by the Bombay High Court for distributing a circular that accused judges of being part of a “dog mafia”, staying her jail term for now.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has suspended a Bombay High Court order that found a woman guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced her to a week in jail. The conviction stemmed from a circular she distributed within her housing society, referring to judges as part of a “dog mafia.”
Justices Vikram Nath and KV Viswanathan have requested a response from the state regarding the woman’s appeal and have stayed the High Court’s order for her arrest.
Also Read: Mumbai Woman Calls Judges ‘Dog Mafia’, Gets 1-Week Jail for Contempt
The contempt case originated from a circular issued by Vineeta Srinandan, then the cultural head of Seawoods Estates Limited in Navi Mumbai, during a legal dispute between the housing society and individuals who feed stray dogs.
Following a High Court ruling against the society for denying access to a house help who fed stray dogs, Srinandan circulated a letter on January 29 to over 1,500 residents, alleging that stray dog feeders were being protected by courts nationwide and claiming the existence of a “dog mafia” with judicial support.
The circular stated,
“Now we are convinced that there is a big Dog mafia operating in the country, who has a list of High Court and Supreme Court judges having views similar to the dog feeders.”
The Bombay High Court deemed the letter’s tone and content as criminal contempt, scandalizing the court and undermining public trust in the judiciary.
The High Court stated in its April 23 judgment,
“It cannot be believed that when the contemnor undertook such contumacious writing, she was not conscious or could be said to be unaware of the consequences.”
The High Court rejected Srinandan’s apology, finding it insincere.
While imposing a one-week imprisonment and a Rs.2,000 fine, It noted,
“Such apology, in our opinion, is merely a weapon in defence with an impression that the contemnor can get away by such recitals,”
Srinandan then appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to set-aside the contempt conviction and sentence.
The Supreme Court’s order has now put the High Court’s punishment on hold, pending further legal proceedings.
Srinandan was represented by Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, along with Advocates Yash S. Vijay, Pranjal Agarwal, Dixita Gohil, Kms Sivani, Anisha Mahajan, Deepak Sharma, and Shikhar Aggarwal.
This case is connected to a long legal fight among residents of Seawoods about feeding stray dogs. There was a challenge made against a rule under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023. This rule asks housing societies to allow people to feed stray dogs in a designated way.
As a part of the ongoing case, a woman named Leela Verma filed an Intervention Application. She was being stopped from feeding dogs at the decided places in the society.
In January, the court passed an order saying that the society cannot stop Leela Verma from feeding stray dogs. After that, Leela gave an affidavit to the court which included the controversial document written by Vineeta Srinandan.
In the document, Vineeta had made some very strong accusations. She claimed that there was a “dog mafia” that included the names of judges and said they were biased towards people who feed dogs.
Case Title: Vineeta Srinandan vs. High Court of Judicature at Bombay on its own motion
Read Attachment