The Allahabad High Court has officially framed criminal contempt charges against Lucknow-based Advocate Ashok Pandey. This development came after Pandey was found to have made communal and baseless allegations against a sitting judge in a 2016 petition, which the Court held as a serious misuse of the judicial process.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Brij Raj Singh held that Pandey's actions were not just irresponsible, but also amounted to an attempt to divide the judiciary along communal lines. According to the Court, this conduct directly undermined the dignity and authority of the judiciary.
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“You, Asok Pande, Advocate, filed Writ Petition No. 8216 (MB) of 2016, and therein in paragraphs 9 and 10 of the said the writ petition made scandalous, reckless, and communal allegations against the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the High Court's sesquicentennial celebrations, who is a sitting Judge of this Court, thereby attempting to lower the authority and dignity of the Court…”
In addition to this, the Court remarked:
“And through such pleadings, you have scandalized the Court, interfered with the administration of justice, and sought to divide the judicial institution on communal lines, which prima facie constitutes criminal contempt under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.”
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The Court has directed Ashok Pandey to submit his response within 15 days.
Background of the Case:
The contempt proceedings date back to April 2016, when Pandey filed a petition challenging a cultural event organised at the new campus of the High Court in Lucknow. This event was part of the sesquicentennial (150th year) celebrations of the Allahabad High Court.
In paragraphs 9 and 10 of his petition, Pandey made direct allegations against the then-sitting Judge, who was also the Chairperson of the organising committee for the celebrations. His petition claimed that religious bias was involved in the conduct of the event.
According to Pandey, the program began with the phrase “Allah-hu, Allah-hu,” which, he alleged, was an intentional act to offend Hindu sentiments. He stated that this was done to counter a speech by the then Governor, Sri Ram Naik, who had earlier praised a performance of Ram Katha during the same celebration event. That day session was attended by the then Vice President of India, Hamid Ansari.
The High Court took strong exception to Pandey's choice of words and the communal angle of his petition. His remarks were seen as an attempt to discredit the Court and its functioning, under the guise of a legal petition.
The Division Bench called Pandey's act a “conscious and premeditated attempt” to bring the judiciary and its judges into disrepute. The allegations, especially the communal tone and the targeting of a sitting judge, were seen as serious enough to initiate criminal contempt proceedings.
“Why should the contemnor, Mr. Asok Pande, Advocate, be not punished under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 for committing criminal contempt by filing a petition containing baseless, communal allegations against a sitting Judge, misusing the judicial process for publicity, and thereby scandalizing the Court and undermining its dignity and authority?”
This is not the first time Advocate Ashok Pandey has faced legal action from the High Court. Just last week, the Allahabad High Court sentenced him to six months of simple imprisonment for using abusive language against High Court judges in open court during a separate 2021 incident.
In that case, Pandey allegedly called the judges "goondas" in open court. Along with the jail term, he was also barred from practicing in the High Court for three years, highlighting a pattern of disrespectful behaviour towards the judiciary.
