Lucknow, April 11 —The Allahabad High Court has sentenced local lawyer Ashok Pande to six months in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 for contempt of court, stemming from a 2021 incident where he appeared without proper court attire and misbehaved with judges.
A division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and BR Singh said Pande’s past conduct and refusal to respond to proceedings warranted “exemplary punishment.” The court also warned of an additional month of imprisonment if the fine is not paid.
Pande has four weeks to surrender before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow. The bench also issued a show cause notice asking why he should not be barred from practicing in the Allahabad High Court and its Lucknow bench. He must respond by May 1.
The contempt case began after Pande showed up in court on August 18, 2021, with his shirt unbuttoned and no lawyer’s robe. He allegedly called the judges “goondas” when questioned about his appearance.
The court cited his history of misconduct, including a two-year ban from court premises in 2017, as a basis for the strict sentence.
