A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra reviewed the arguments presented by senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing Kohli.
New Delhi: Today (Aug 9): The Supreme Court has requested a response from bar leader Rajiv Khosla regarding a petition by former Delhi district court judge Sujata Kohli. Kohli is challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to exonerate Khosla in a contempt case related to alleged interference with justice.
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A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and including Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra reviewed the arguments presented by senior advocate Indira Jaising, representing Kohli.
Jaising challenged the High Court’s verdict and criticized the conduct of Khosla and his supporters.
Jaising remarked,
“At the time of the incident, she was a practicing lawyer when this individual pulled her hair in the courtroom. She later became a judicial officer. On the day of judgment, a ‘mob’ of lawyers tried to obstruct the judge’s duties.”
Jaising further noted,
“The issue at hand involves the leader of the Bar, who later became the President of the DHCBA. Such disruptions are becoming frequent, and even other judges had to step in to calm the protesting lawyers.”
In February, the High Court discharged Khosla, a former president of the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA), from the contempt case initiated for allegedly obstructing court proceedings. The case followed an incident on November 30, 2021, when chaos erupted in a Delhi Tis Hazari courtroom with lawyers chanting slogans and standing on furniture while awaiting Khosla’s sentencing.
The High Court, in its ruling, stated that the former judge failed to present evidence sufficient to prove that Khosla was guilty of criminal contempt. The court observed that the CCTV footage from the incident showed a “fully packed” courtroom, likely due to Khosla’s role as an office bearer of both the Delhi Bar Association and the DHCBA. The court found that the audio of Khosla’s statements was not clear and that the transcript did not contain statements that would suggest contempt.
Kohli, who was a lawyer at Tis Hazari Court when the alleged assault occurred in August 1994, claimed that Khosla had dragged her by the hair. She later became a judge and retired as a District and Sessions Judge in 2020.
The contempt case stemmed from the disruption caused by Khosla’s supporters during the trial. The trial court had convicted Khosla and imposed a Rs 40,000 compensation penalty.
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The High Court concluded,
“There is no evidence before us indicating that the contemnor had scandalized or undermined the authority of the Court or attempted to interfere with judicial proceedings,” leading to Khosla’s discharge.
The Supreme Court has issued notice to Khosla and requested the Delhi High Court Registrar General to provide a sealed report on the November 30 incident. The case will be reviewed in three weeks.
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On October 29, 2021, a trial court had convicted Khosla for offenses under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. Kohli’s petition included allegations that Khosla’s post-conviction appeal to bar bodies led to strikes and further objectionable conduct in court.
