The Supreme Court has kept in abeyance the Gujarat High Court’s order convicting GHCAA president Yatin Oza for allegedly making scandalous remarks against the state judiciary. The conviction and sentence remain paused while the matter receives further consideration.
The Supreme Court kept in abeyance an order of the Gujarat High Court that convicted Yatin Oza, the president of the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association, and sentenced him until the court rose for allegedly making scandalous remarks against the state judiciary.
The High Court also imposed a fine of Rs.2,000 on Oza and ordered that, in the event of default, he would have to undergo simple imprisonment for two months.
Oza was elected as the GHCAA president for the 19th time on December 20, 2025.
In a judgment pronounced , Supreme Court bench comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar directed that the full court of the High Court must conduct a periodic review of the appellant’s conduct every two years, taking into account the undertaking submitted by him.
The bench said,
“The reasons assigned in the impugned order by the high court do not warrant any interference by this court. Yet, extending a final act of forgiveness, we are inclined to exercise our power under Article 142 of the Constitution to suspend/ keep in abeyance the conviction as well as sentence of the appellant as a consequence of this judgment indefinitely,”
The Supreme Court on Monday kept in abeyance the Gujarat High Court’s order convicting Yatin Oza, the president of the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association, and sentencing him until the rising of the court for allegedly making scandalous remarks against the state judiciary.
The top court noted that Oza had filed an appeal challenging the High Court’s October 6, 2020 conviction.
However, the High Court’s sentence was suspended for a period of 60 days, and subsequently, the Supreme Court continued the suspension of the sentence granted by the High Court.
Later, the full court of the High Court decided to recall the restoration of Oza’s “Senior Advocate” designation following another alleged misconduct incident in April 2024.
Documents indicate that the most recent resolution follows what has been described as the “sixth incident” in the long-running history of disputes between Oza and the judiciary.
On April 9, 2024, during the hearing of a writ petition, Oza allegedly accused the presiding judge of “forum shopping.”
After reviewing a video recording of the proceedings, the full court observed that Oza appeared on behalf of a respondent without a briefing counsel or a formal power of appearance.
The full court’s decision dated April 15, 2024 stated that Oza’s conduct was “unbecoming of a senior advocate” and that his remarks were intended to browbeat the court.
In 2020, Oza, during a press conference, referred to the Gujarat High Court as a “gamblers’ den.” The High Court had previously revoked Oza’s senior designation in July 2020.
However, in October 2021, the Supreme Court invoked its powers under Article 142 to restore Oza’s gown for a two-year probationary period beginning January 1, 2022, describing it as his one more and last chance.