'Dictatorship' Comment On Courts Lands YouTuber In Jail For Six Months

While appearing in the court, Gulshan Pahuja repeated his "tanashahi" (dictatorship) remark against the judiciary

20 May 2026, 06:42 · www.ndtv.com

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YouTuber and advocate Gulshan Pahuja sentenced to six months jail for contempt
Pahuja made derogatory remarks calling judiciary rigid and dictatorial in court
He attacked three Delhi judges on his YouTube channel Fight 4 Judicial Reforms

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New Delhi:

"Derogatory" comments against the judiciary have landed a YouTuber in jail for six months. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced YouTuber and advocate, Gulshan Pahuja, to six months' simple imprisonment in two criminal contempt cases for objectionable remarks on the judiciary and court functioning.

What drew judges' ire is that while appearing in the court, Pahuja repeated his "tanashahi" (dictatorship) remark against the judiciary and stated that he had "no hopes of getting justice".

"Adalaton ki manmarzi badhti jaa rahi hai aur main koi nyay ki umeed nahi kar raha. Manmarzi ka dusra arth tanashahi hota hai" (Courts are becoming more and more rigid. I have no come here with any hope of justice. Rigidity also means dictatorship), he said in the court.

Pahuja runs the YouTube channel 'Fight 4 Judicial Reforms'. The case stemmed from complaints by three district judges - Charu Asiwal, Ajay Narwal and Ajay Singh Parihar - after Pahuja uploaded videos and banners on his YouTube channel in October 2024 naming them. Pahuja personally attacked three Delhi judicial officers and even imputed that in case a litigant's case is listed before them, such litigant should not expect justice.

In another video uploaded by Pahuja on 7 March 2025, he used the term "Capital C" as a descriptor for the Supreme Court.

A division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja observed that Pahuja had shown "no regret" or "course correction" despite being found guilty of criminal contempt.

"We must herein note that during the course of his oral submissions, he again made scandalous remarks and stated that he did not expect justice from the Indian judicial system," the order noted. "The contemnor shows no regret. He also does not suggest any course correction," the court observed, adding that he "compounded his contempt by making further scandalous submissions before this court".

The bench further said that failure to impose adequate punishment may "encourage him to repeat these acts in future and to embolden him in doing the same."

Accordingly, the Court imposed the "maximum punishment" of six months' simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000 in each contempt case, with sentences directed to run concurrently.

However, since Pahuja expressed his intention to challenge the judgment before the Supreme Court, the High Court suspended the sentence for 60 days under Section 19(3) of the Contempt of Courts Act.

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