GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Monday, April 28, granted interim protection to Gauhati High Court Bar Association President, KN Choudhary, in connection with the contempt proceedings initiated by the Gauhati High Court. The proceedings were based on allegations of criminal contempt related to remarks made against an individual judge and the institution.
ALSO READ: IMD Predicts Further Rainfall As Guwahati Sinks After Downpour
According to a LiveLaw report, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued an order keeping the contempt proceedings against Choudhary in abeyance while allowing the proceedings against two other advocates, Anil Kumar Bhattacharyya and Pallavi Talukdar, to continue. Notices were also issued during the hearing. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on instructions from the Advocate General of Assam and opposed the interim protection.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Choudhary, submitted that the bar president was not present when the alleged remarks were made and presented a video recording to the high court supporting this claim. Justice Vikram Nath queried about the opposition to the proposed shifting of the Gauhati High Court to Rangmahal, North Guwahati. Sibal clarified that he was not initially opposing the move but later admitted that he might be, emphasising that opposition to the relocation could not amount to contempt.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan also filed a petition on behalf of the association, which was dismissed as withdrawn by the court. The Supreme Court observed that while the bar association's petition would not be entertained, the president would be granted interim protection pending further proceedings.
Solicitor General Mehta contended that the bar president could not be considered distinct from the actions of its members, asserting that the president should bear responsibility for members’ conduct. However, the bench also noted that representation of the association is typically through its secretary, not necessarily the president.
Earlier, contempt proceedings were initiated by the Gauhati High Court based on a complaint filed by the Advocate General of Assam. The allegations stemmed from derogatory remarks reportedly made by advocate Pallavi Talukdar against Justice Suman Shyam during a media interview. Meanwhile, Anil Kumar Bhattacharyya, allegedly made critical comments about the judge’s conduct, suggesting bias.