The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently found an 85-year-old individual guilty of committing criminal contempt of court. This decision was made because the person had made allegations against certain judges of the High Court in articles published in his law journal back in 2010.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra has imposed a fine of ₹4,000 on Dr. NS Poonia. Additionally, they have ordered that if he fails to pay this fine, he will be subjected to a simple imprisonment of ten days.

The Court also issued a warning, advising him to be vigilant and careful in his actions in the future.

The Court remarked that the comments made by Poonia did not constitute "mere fair and dispassionate critique" of the judges' judgments. Instead, they were characterized by intemperate language and the use of undesirable expletives. Furthermore, the Court noted that one of the accusations against Poonia was that he had stated that a judge should be impeached due to their overall performance, alleging that the rights of the public had been undermined and humiliated.

The Court stated that the actions of the respondent-contemnor were a deliberate attempt to tarnish the reputation of the court. This conduct clearly fell within the definition of 'criminal contempt' as outlined in Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

Poonia was found guilty not only for the comments he made in his publication but also for the "contemptuous comments" he included in the documents he filed during the contempt case. A separate contempt petition had been filed in 2018 specifically related to those documents and their contemptuous content.

It was disclosed to the Court that Poonia, who serves as the founder, editor, and publisher of the journal titled 'Lost Justice,' is currently bedridden and has experienced paralysis in his right arm and right leg. Additionally, it was mentioned that he has lost his ability to speak due to multiple cerebral strokes.

The Court had initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Poonia in 2013 for his comments regarding the way certain cases were decided by certain High Court judges.

Poonia initially denied the allegations of contempt and sought to reopen all the cases related to the matter. However, his application for reopening the cases was subsequently rejected by the Court.

Last month, he withdrew all his previous pleadings and instead submitted an unconditional apology. He requested that the Court consider his age and serious ailments when evaluating his apology.

Upon considering the request and taking into account the totality of the facts and circumstances, including the age and health condition of the respondent-contemnor, the Court deemed it just and appropriate to impose a punishment consisting of the payment of a fine.

Case: In Reference (Suo Motu) vs Dr. N.S. Poonia, contempt petition  (criminal) No.12 of 2013.