Karnataka High Court convicts former employee of IIA for contempt of court and sentences him to imprisonment for four months

The High Court of Karnataka has convicted a erstwhile worker of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) successful 2 abstracted instances of contempt of tribunal - for filling a forged connection earlier the tribunal and for making baseless and scandalous allegations against members of the ineligible fraternity and the judiciary - and sentenced him to imprisonment for 4 months successful each case.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Vijaykumar A. Patil passed the order, portion convicting K. Dhananjay connected 2 abstracted contempt proceedings, 1 initiated connected a ailment filed by the IIA and different initiated suo motu by the court.

IIA’s case

The IIA had filed a contempt of tribunal petition successful 2018 against him alleging that helium was making baseless and scandalous allegations repeatedly successful penning against members of the Central Administrative Tribunal, judges of the High Court, the Advocate-General and advocates representing the State and the Central governments successful transportation with proceedings connected pleas challenging his dismissal from the IIA.

Meanwhile, the tribunal successful 2019 suo motu initiated different contempt proceedings for filling a forged connection of objection earlier the court, portraying arsenic if it was filed connected behalf of the Central government, by forging the signature of an advocator representing the Central government.

Noticing his behaviour earlier the tribunal during the contempt of tribunal proceedings, the Bench said that “his behaviour was not lone acold from expressing immoderate remorse for the archetypal transgression contempt committed by him, but helium had attempted to warrant his actions and has proceeded to marque scandalous and unfounded statements against the judicial instauration arsenic a whole.”

‘Sociopaths similar him...’

“His behaviour tin lone beryllium termed arsenic deliberate and adamant and reveals implicit apathy towards social, motivation and judicial codes of conduct. We are of the wide sentiment that if behaviour of this quality is not punished, sociopaths similar the accused are apt to repetition specified offences with impunity which would endanger the regularisation of instrumentality and the judicial strategy arsenic a whole,” the Bench observed.

Pointing retired that helium could not spot immoderate mitigating circumstances that would explicate his contemptuous conduct, the Bench said that helium had committed “aggravated contempt connected the look of the tribunal by scurrilous, scandalous and baseless statements against advocates of this court, the Advocate-General and the authorities advocates arsenic good arsenic the judges of the court.”