In a strong response to what it termed a deliberate attempt to undermine judicial authority, the Bombay High Court on April 08, 2025 directed YouTube and Marathi news channel ABP Majha to immediately take down a video featuring advocate Nilesh Ojha, calling it “scandalous” and “defamatory” towards sitting High Court judges.

A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe, and comprising Justice Chandurkar, Justice Sonak, Justice Ghuge, and Justice Gadkari, also issued a show cause notice to advocate Ojha for making serious allegations against Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and former Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyay, who is presently the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

The bench took cognizance of a press conference addressed by Ojha on April 1, ahead of the scheduled hearing of a petition filed by him on behalf of his client, Satish Salian, who has sought a fresh investigation into the death of his daughter, Disha Salian. The matter was listed on April 2 before Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Neela Gokhale.

In the press conference, Advocate Ojha alleged that Justice Revati Mohite-Dere was “disqualified” from hearing the matter. Upon viewing the video, the court noted that Ojha made several personal and derogatory allegations against both Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyay. He also claimed that a complaint had been submitted to the President of India and that the President had orally permitted his client to “prosecute” the said judges.

The bench observed that instead of raising any such concerns before the bench during the hearing, Ojha chose to go public a day before. Further, when the matter was called out on April 2, Ojha did not seek recusal but contended that the matter was wrongly listed and should have been placed before the division bench led by Justice Sarang Kotwal.

In its order, the bench remarked:

“The statements in the press conference with regard to the recusal of a sitting Judge of this Court appear to have been made deliberately to scandalize the authority of the Court and a Judge of this Court. The act of publishing interviews prima facie amounts to scandalizing this Court by making scandalous and defamatory allegations against a Judge of this Court. The statements also tend to lower the authority of the Court and such allegations also interfere with due course of judicial proceedings.”

Having found a prima facie case of criminal contempt, the bench directed issuance of a show cause notice to advocate Ojha, returnable on April 29.

“We, therefore, direct the Registry to issue notice to Mr.Nilesh Ojha, Advocate under Rule 9(1) read with Rule 8 of the Contempt of Courts (Bombay High Court) Rules, 1994.” the order stated.

The bench also directed the Union Government and the Government of Maharashtra to ensure that the video is removed from all digital platforms. In addition, the Registry has been directed to issue formal notices to the Bar Council of India, Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, Bombay Bar Association, Advocates Association of Western India, YouTube, and ABP Majha, making them parties to the matter.

The court appointed Senior Advocates Darius Khambatta and Dr. Milind Sathe as Amicus Curiae to assist in the proceedings. It further requested the assistance of Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh and Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf.

Case Title: High Court Of Judicature At Bombay On its Own Motion vs. Nilesh Ojha and Anr.