In a strong stance against contemptuous behaviour in court, the Allahabad High Court has sentenced Advocate Asok Pandey to six months’ simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 for using abusive language against judges, including referring to them as “goondas” during court proceedings in 2021.
The Division Bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Brij Raj Singh found Pandey guilty of criminal contempt of court, citing not only the incident from August 18, 2021, but also a history of misconduct spanning from 2003 to 2017. The Court described his behaviour as a “continuing pattern of deliberate defiance and misconduct.”
“Such repeated misconduct shows that the contemnor is not merely misguided but is intentionally engaged in a pattern of behaviour aimed at undermining the authority of this Court,” the Bench noted in its order. “He continues to disregard orders of the Court, refuses to acknowledge the error of his ways, and shows no signs of reform.”
The Court recounted that Pandey had appeared before a Bench of Justices Ritu Raj Awasthi and Dinesh Kumar Singh in 2021 in civilian attire with his shirt unbuttoned. When asked to dress appropriately, Pandey reportedly refused, questioned the meaning of “decent dress,” disrupted proceedings, and accused the judges of “behaving like goondas” in open court.
The April 10 judgment noted that the lawyer had been given multiple chances to respond to the contempt charges but failed to do so. “Neither any affidavit is submitted, nor any explanation is provided by the contemnor to justify or retract the charges,” the Court observed. “His persistent noncooperation with the Court, coupled with his silence… leads us to infer that he has no defense to offer and remains recalcitrant and unrepentant.”
The Court also pointed to a previous instance where Pandey had been barred from entering the High Court premises for two years in another contempt matter. It emphasized that the current behaviour reflected a consistent “disdain” for judicial authority.
“The above conduct of contemnor clearly shows that he treats the judicial process with utter disdain and continues to undermine the dignity and integrity of the institution with impunity,” the order said.
Pandey has been directed to surrender before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow within four weeks. Failure to pay the fine within a month will result in an additional month of imprisonment.
Additionally, the Court has issued a notice to Advocate Pandey to show cause as to why he should not be barred from practicing before the High Court for three years. The matter will next be heard on May 1, 2025.
Case: State of UP vs Ashok Pande – Available on LAWFYI.IO
