The Supreme Court on Monday observed that reckless and unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against judicial officers can irreparably damage their careers, particularly in the age of social media, while hearing a plea filed by YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja.
The Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu made the observations while considering Pahuja’s petition arising out of criminal contempt proceedings initiated against him by the Delhi High Court.
During the hearing, Pahuja submitted that his objective was to expose corruption within the judiciary and that he had never intended to target any individual judge. While acknowledging his stated concerns, the Bench emphasised that allegations of corruption against judicial officers cannot be made without credible supporting material.
Expressing concern over the impact of social media, the Bench remarked that unsubstantiated charges of corruption heavily damage a judge’s reputation. They emphasised that judicial officers are left to deal with the severe fallout of having their entire careers put at risk without any proof.
The proceedings stem from a May 2026 judgment of the Delhi High Court, which convicted Pahuja of criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000 for making scandalous remarks about the judiciary through his YouTube videos and during court proceedings.
In its findings, the High Court noted that Pahuja compared the judicial system to a dictatorship. The Court pointed to his statements that he had lost all hope for justice due to the increasingly arbitrary actions of the courts, explicitly stating that arbitrariness is essentially a synonym for dictatorship
Following his conviction, Pahuja approached the Delhi High Court seeking additional time to surrender and serve his sentence. After that request was rejected, he moved the Supreme Court seeking similar relief. However, during the pendency of the petition, he surrendered before the authorities. Taking note of this development, the Supreme Court observed that the relief sought in the petition no longer survived.
Upon being informed of the surrender, the Bench stated that the development restricted their ability to grant relief. Counsel for the petitioner cross-submitted that Pahuja’s actions were intended solely to combat systemic corruption and improve judicial standards, rather than undermine the authority of the institution.
The Apex Court clarified that it was not examining the merits of the contempt conviction in the present proceedings. It noted that Pahuja had already filed a separate appeal challenging the Delhi High Court’s judgment. When informed that the appeal had not yet been listed because the Registry had raised objections regarding untranslated Hindi documents, the Bench granted Pahuja liberty to move an application seeking exemption from translating those documents into English.
The Court directed that once such an application is filed, the Registry shall process and list the appeal for consideration. The Bench also indicated that it would permit Pahuja to argue the appeal in person, should he choose to do so.
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