SC refuses to consider plea by lawyer to reduce sentence for abusing woman judicial officer

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider a plea by a lawyer challenging his 18-month jail term for abusing a woman judge inside a courtroom in October 2015, in the national capital.

A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan said any leniency in the matter would affect the mental state of woman judicial officers.

The bench declined to entertain the appeal of advocate Sanjay Rathore against the May 26 verdict of the Delhi High Court, which declined to reduce the sentence awarded to the lawyer for outraging the modesty of the woman judicial officer.

Referring to the lawyer's comments, the bench asked, "How can a woman judicial officer act and discharge the judicial functions?"

The bench refused to accept the lawyer's submissions for leniency. The lawyer contended that he had "suffered a lot due to his acts".

“No. Nothing can be done….We have to see the nature of the case. Here a woman judicial officer is abused in a courtroom," the bench said.

The lawyer was reportedly angry over the adjournment of his case in connection with the traffic challan. He created a ruckus inside the courtroom besides using abusive and filthy language against the metropolitan magistrate.

The High Court had said that any act which threatened or intimidated a judge through gender-specific abuse was an assault on justice itself.

“When the dignity of any judicial officer is torn by way of use of filthy words proved beyond reasonable doubt, the law must act as the thread that would mend and restore it," the High Court said on May 26.

The High Court, upholding his punishment, ordered the lawyer to surrender within 15 days from the date of the order.