By IANS
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Friday sentenced two journalists, a cartoonist and the publisher of afternoon tabloid Mid-Day to four months imprisonment each for contempt of court for publishing unsubstantiated news reports against former chief justice Y.K. Sabharwal. All four were then released on bail.
A division bench of Justices R.S. Sodhi and B.N. Chaturvedi said: “We feel, in this peculiar case, the contemnors have tarnished the image of the highest court, and sentence of four months’ imprisonment would serve the end of justice.”
Those sentenced include resident editor Vitusha Oberoi, city editor M.K. Tayal, publisher A.K. Akhtar and cartoonist Irfan.
They had alleged in news reports May 19 that Justice Sabharwal, as the chief justice, had passed orders, during the sealing of commercial property in the capital, that favoured his sons, who are close associates of mall developers.
As ordered by the Supreme Court Wednesday on their plea, all were released on bail after furnishing bail bonds.
On Sep 11, the court had held them guilty, saying that they had crossed the “Laxman Rekha” by publishing scandalous articles about Justice Sabharwal.
“The publications, in the garb of scandalising a retired chief justice of India, have in fact attacked the very institution, which according to us is nothing short of contempt,” the bench said.
The court rejected the contention of the daily, which had submitted that a judge, after retiring, ceases to be part of the judicial system and writing against him did not come within the ambit of contempt of court.
“The nature of the revelations and the context in which they appear, though purporting to single out the former chief justice of India, tarnishes the image of the Supreme Court itself. It tends to erode the confidence of the general public in the institution,” the bench said.
Senior counsel and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, who represented the journalists, contended that the material on record had ample proof of the fact that Sabharwal’s sons were indeed beneficiaries during the sealing of commercial premises in the capital.