A day after holding him guilty of contempt of court, a Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court consisting of Justice Sonia Gokani and Justice N.V. Anjaria sentenced lawyer Yatin Oza with ₹2,000 fine and punishment till rising of the court, and two months of imprisonment in case of default of payment. His was also divested of his title of Senior Counsel.
The court had initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Mr. Oza, president of the Gujarat HC Advocates Association, for his disparaging remarks against the High Court, calling the HC registry a “gambling den”.
In June this year, Mr. Oza, in a Facebook live press conference had said, “The High Court is an absolute gambling den today, wherein only billionaires can gamble. If poor people gamble for five rupees at home, the police would arrest them. This is the situation of the High Court. High Court can file a contempt petition against me.”
During the contempt proceedings, Mr. Oza had tendered an unconditional apology, which was rejected by the court.
The bench held that the court was open to healthy criticism but at the same time, it could not allow any attempt to tarnish its image and prestige.
On Tuesday, the court had pronounced its verdict, holding Mr. Oza guilty of the contempt charge, and posted the matter for sentencing on Wednesday.
