The Supreme Court has refused to interfere with the criminal contempt proceedings initiated by the Bombay High Court against Advocate Nilesh C. Ojha for making serious imputations against a sitting Judge of the High Court (“Justice X”) during a press conference. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, in a judgment authored by Justice Sandeep Mehta, dismissed the appeals filed by the appellant-contemnor under Section 19 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, and held that the allegations levelled in the public domain were not confined to pointing out errors of law or fact but extended to imputing motives and lack of impartiality without any demonstrable foundation. The Court observed that such assertions, when directed against a sitting Judge, require a high degree of responsibility and substantiation commensurate with their seriousness and that the tenor and sweep of the allegations raised concerns going beyond the immediate lis.

The controversy arose when the appellant, appearing in Criminal Writ Petition No.1612 of 2025 on behalf of his client, addressed a press conference on 1st April 2025 — a day before the matter was listed — and publicly alleged that “Justice X” was disqualified from hearing the case because her sister was an accused in the FIR and was associated with a political party. The Division Bench before which the matter was mentioned directed the Registry to act as per the roster. Thereafter, “Justice X” addressed a letter to the Chief Justice placing the statements on record. The Chief Justice took suo motu cognizance and constituted a five-Judge Bench. Show-cause notice was issued to the appellant-contemnor. While dealing with his application seeking discharge and impleadment of the Judge, the Full Bench rejected the impleadment plea and, taking suo motu cognizance of further disparaging imputations made in the application itself, directed registration of a separate criminal contempt petition. The High Court also issued an advisory to the appellant and fifteen other advocates associated with the filing, cautioning them about their professional obligations.

The Supreme Court emphasised that judicial independence is a foundational and non-derogable feature of the constitutional scheme and that public confidence in the judiciary is the bedrock of its legitimacy. While fair and bona fide criticism of judicial decisions is a legitimate facet of democratic discourse, reckless aspersions that tend to scandalise the institution or its constitutional components undermine the very foundation of the rule of law. The Court observed that members of the Bar, as officers of the Court, occupy a position of privilege and bear a heightened duty to uphold the dignity of the institution. Professional ethics require that grievances against judicial orders be ventilated through established legal remedies before appropriate judicial forums rather than through public commentary capable of influencing perception about the fairness or integrity of the judicial process. The act of carrying a pending judicial controversy into the public domain in a manner that sensationalises the proceedings or scandalises the Judges is wholly inconsistent with the discipline expected of an advocate.

The Supreme Court held that no case for interference with the impugned orders was made out at this stage. It clarified that the observations made in the judgment were confined to a prima facie consideration for the limited purpose of the appeals and shall not influence the High Court in the independent exercise of its judicial functions. The Court requested the High Court to proceed with the contempt matters expeditiously and adjudicate all issues arising therein independently and on their own merits. The appeals were accordingly dismissed with no order as to costs and all pending applications were disposed of.

Case Title: Nilesh C. Ojha Versus High Court of Judicature at Bombay through Secretary & Ors.
Case No.: Criminal Appeal Nos. 5673-5674 of 2025
Date of Judgment: 20 April 2026
Coram: Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta

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