NEW DELHI/Chandigarh, May 30: The Supreme Court on Friday initiated suo motu contempt proceedings against Chandigarh-based journalist and YouTuber Ajay Shukla, accusing him of making scandalous and defamatory statements against senior judges of the apex court in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices Augustine George Masih and A.S. Chandurkar, directed that the video be taken down immediately. The court also barred the channel from republishing the video or uploading any similar content in the future.
The action stems from a recent video in which Shukla, Editor-in-Chief of Varprad Media, made derogatory comments targeting Justice Bela M. Trivedi, who is set to retire on June 9.
The Bench issued a formal notice to Shukla and called upon Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to assist the court in handling the matter.
Solicitor General Mehta described the situation as “very serious,” and added, “I am grateful to this Bench for taking suo motu cognisance. The statements made are damaging to the dignity of this institution.”
The CJI remarked that Shukla’s video contained “scandalous observations about some of the senior judges of this court,” and noted that its wide circulation on YouTube posed a serious risk to the judiciary’s reputation.
“Freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right under the Constitution,” the court said, “but that right is subject to reasonable restrictions. It cannot extend to the making of defamatory or contemptuous allegations against judges of this court.”
The court made clear that the content in question crosses the line into contempt of court, as it undermines public confidence in the judiciary and tarnishes the institution’s image.
The matter will be heard further as the court awaits a response from Shukla following the issuance of the contempt notice.
