The Supreme Court has accepted an unconditional apology from a police officer from Bengaluru and set aside his one-month imprisonment for contempt of court for disrespecting an order on granting bail to an accused.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit allowed an appeal by Sunil H B, then sub-inspector at the Kaggalipura police station, but cautioned him to be careful in future.
“In the facts and circumstances of the case, (the) imposition of sentence and fine (Rs 2,000) is set aside and the unconditional apology tendered by the appellant is accepted. However, the appellant to be careful in future and not to repeat the said conduct,” the court said.
On December 12, 2017, the High Court of Karnataka had held that Sunil had committed “gross contempt of court”. The court noted that his actions were contemptuous as he made reckless statements against the court and threw its order on the ground on three occasions, which cannot be pardoned under any circumstances.
Srikantha A, an accused in a criminal case, was granted anticipatory bail on August 22, 2016. He, along with his lawyer, went to the Kaggalipura police station for completing the bail formalities with a copy of the court’s order. But the sub-inspector repeatedly threw the order of the court on the ground and made utterances against the court, refusing to comply with the order. Srikantha then filed a complaint before the principal district and sessions judge who passed a detailed order for initiating proceedings against the police officer under the Contempt of Courts Act.
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