Karnataka HC awards former IIA employee 4-month jail
BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court sentenced a man to simple imprisonment for four months and a fine of Rs 2,000 each, in two separate criminal contempt cases for making scandalous statements against advocates, the Advocate General, Judges of Central Administrative Tribunal and the HC. K Dhananjay, a former employee of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, was convicted for criminal contempt of court, punishable under Section 12(1) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. He allegedly made the statements while questioning his dismissal from service. A division bench of Anu Sivaraman and Justice Vijaykumar A Patil passed the orders on suo motu criminal contempt petitions filed by the High Court of Karnataka and Indian Institute of Astrophysics. We have given our anxious consideration to the pleadings and materials on record. We have also noticed the conduct of the accused before the court. Far from expressing any remorse for the initial criminal contempt committed by him, he has attempted to justify his actions and proceeded to make scandalous and unfounded statements against the judicial institution as a whole. We are of the clear opinion that if conduct of this nature is not punished, sociopaths like the accused are likely to repeat such offences with impunity, the court observed. The court said the accused has committed aggravated contempt in the face of the court by scurrilous, scandalous and baseless statements against advocates of the court, the Advocate General and government advocates, as well as judges.
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