In a significant legal development, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued show-cause notices to former Lok Sabha MP Rajan Sushant and his son Dhairya Sushant on charges of criminal contempt of court. This action follows the duo’s alleged disparaging remarks about the judiciary in a video circulated on social media.
A division bench, comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sushil Kukreja, took suo motu cognizance of the matter after reviewing the video, which contained severe allegations against the judiciary, including specific judges of the court. The court has scheduled a hearing for April 7, 2025, and has demanded that the respondents explain why they should not be held liable for criminal contempt under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
The video in question, which was uploaded to Facebook, included statements that the court found prima facie contemptuous. The high court’s order noted, “We find that Dhairya Sushant has made serious allegations not only against the institution of judiciary but has also unnecessarily targeted one of the judges of this court.”
In response to these allegations, the court has directed its registry to prepare a complete paper book of the case, which will be provided to the advocate general, Anup Rattan, and his legal team for further proceedings.
