Court Warns Against Social Media Abuses of Judiciary

The Allahabad High Court has issued a stern warning to social media users who direct abusive comments at the judiciary. The court stated that such remarks fall outside the realm of fair criticism and could result in strict contempt actions.

Justices J J Munir and Pramod Kumar Srivastava emphasized that virtual abuses aimed at the judiciary do not constitute informed criticism. The court's observations were made during a criminal contempt case involving advocate Hari Narayan Pandey, who admitted his distress during the incident.

While the court dropped the contempt proceedings, acknowledging Pandey's sincere apology, it reiterated that social media users must exercise restraint and adhere to lawful criticism when commenting on judicial matters.