Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court has directed the initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against an advocate who allegedly made scandalous remarks against the Court during the hearing of a bail application.
The order was passed by Justice Santosh Rai on February 12, 2026, while hearing Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 5069 of 2026 in Kunal v. State of Uttar Pradesh.
The bail application was taken up in Court No. 70, where Sri Ashutosh Kumar Mishra appeared for the applicant and Sri Purushottam Maurya, learned Additional Government Advocate, appeared for the State.
During the hearing, counsel for the applicant submitted that his client had been falsely implicated and that the statement of the injured witness had not been recorded by the Investigating Officer. The State conceded that although the FIR had been registered on January 19, 2026, the statement of the injured, Yash Jain, had not yet been recorded. The FIR alleged that the injured had sustained a firearm injury to the chest.
Considering the circumstances, the Court directed the State to file a counter-affidavit along with the complete medical evidence, injury report, and the statements of the injured as well as the concerned doctor within three weeks. The matter was directed to be listed afresh on March 10, 2026.
However, immediately after the dictation of the order, the Court recorded that counsel for the applicant began raising his voice in open court and objected to the direction for filing a counter-affidavit. According to the order, the advocate stated that the Court did not have the courage to seek an explanation from the Investigating Officer for not recording the injured’s statement and further remarked that the Judge had no authority to pass any order against the Investigating Officer. The Court also recorded that the advocate alleged that the Judge appeared to be working under pressure from the Government.
Justice Rai observed that the words used, the tone, and the body language of the advocate were highly objectionable, scandalous, and derogatory, and tended to lower the authority and dignity of the Court in the eyes of those present. The Court further noted that the proceedings remained stalled for about ten minutes on account of the alleged misconduct.
Holding that the conduct prima facie fell within the ambit of criminal contempt as defined under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, the Court observed that the remarks amounted to scandalising the Court and interfering with the administration of justice.
The Court was of the considered opinion that the matter required consideration for initiation of contempt proceedings. However, instead of issuing notice directly, Justice Rai directed that a separate reference be made to the Chief Justice for taking suitable action in accordance with law.
The Registry has been directed to place the matter before the Chief Justice for appropriate orders regarding the initiation of contempt proceedings against Sri Ashutosh Kumar Mishra. The bail matter has been released and directed to be placed before another Bench after obtaining orders from the Chief Justice.
Case Details:
Case Title: Kunal v. State of Uttar Pradesh
Case Number: Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 5069 of 2026
Court: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
Bench: Justice Santosh Rai
Date of Order: February 12, 2026
Counsel for Applicant: Sri Ashutosh Kumar Mishra, Sri Shireesh Kumar Mishra
Counsel for State: Sri Purushottam Maurya, Additional Government Advocate
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