Mid-Day journos held guilty of contempt

New Delhi, Sep 11 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today held the Editor, Resident Editor, Publisher and Cartoonist of a local tabloid guilty of contempt for writing articles ''scandalising'' a former Chief Justice of India.

A Division Bench comprising Justice R S Sodhi and B N Chaturvedi took suo motu notice of the article published by Mid-Day alleging that former Chief Justice of India Y K Sabharwal gave orders on sealing of some commercial complexes which indirectly benefitted his sons.

The court will announce the quantum of sentence on Editor MK Tayal, Resident Editor Vitusha Oberoi, Publisher SK Akhtar, Cartoonist Mohd. Irfaan Khan on September 21.

''The publications in the garb of scandalising a retired Chief Justice of India have in fact attacked the very institution of judiciary, which is nothing short of contempt,'' the court observed.

Appearing on behalf of the journalists, senior counsel Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan submitted that the articles were true and, hence, permissible defence.

They also contended that the former Chief Justice had ceased to hold office when the article was carried. Therefore, it cannot be termed as denigrating the authority of the Supreme Court.

Propriety demanded, Mr Bhushan said, that Justice Sabharwal ought not to have been on the bench passing orders to seal the commercial properties.

However, the court maintained that the entire incidence had been projected as if the Supreme Court permitted itself to be led into fulfilling an ulterior motive of one of its members.

Besides, the bench held that nature of the revelations and the context, though purporting to single out former Chief Justice of India, tarnished the image of the apex court. The article tends to erode the confidence of the general public in the institution itself, they added.

UNI