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A whistleblower of sorts, DSP Sekhon had taken on politicians, bureaucrats, police officers in his battles against corruption and the drug mafia in Punjab. With a visible presence on YouTube, Sekhon had also criticized the Judiciary and its handling of drug mafia cases.
On 15 February 2023, Sekhon was issued a Contempt of Court notice by the Punjab & Haryana High Court. On 20 February, the High Court at Chandigarh issued a warrant of arrest for Sekhon and his aide in the suo moto contempt case. Sekhon was arrested the same day and produced before the High Court on 24 Fenruary 2023.
Sekhon was extremely blunt in his criticism of Judges in his YouTube videos. His use of language was not guarded and there is little doubt that he crossed the line for criminal contempt drawn in the contempt of Courts Act, with truth being his only defence.
But in this short note, I comment on the handling of his contempt hearing by the Chandigarh High Court on 24 February 2023. There was little media coverage and all I found was one Twitter account describing what transpired in Court, Sekhon was presented in Police custody before the Court, he appeared without a lawyer, he asked the Court to appoint a particular lawyer for him whom he named, Sekhon denied his guilt, and he asked for time to file a written reply.
The Chandigarh High Court convicted and sentenced Sekhon of Contempt of Court the same day, i,e., on 24 February 2023 and he was taken into custody and sent to prison for six months from the Court itself. So the Chandigarh High Court convicted and sentenced Sekhon without giving him an opportunity to file a reply, without providing him legal representation, and without giving him a proper hearing in accordance with the principles of natural justice. He was also ordered to be arrested immediately. and the sentence was not suspended to allow him to exercise his statutory right of appeal to the Supreme Court under the Contempt of Courts Act.
As of 20 March 2023, no appeal has been filed before the Supreme Court on behalf of Balwinder Singh Sekhon.
Whatever be the circumstances, a man ought not to be imprisoned without a hearing, without a lawyer and without an opportunity to reply to the charges against him. Even Section 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act enjoins upon the Court to give a person charged with Contempt "an opportunity to make his defence to the charge" and to afford him a hearing. The Chandigarh High Court failed to do so in its conviction and sentencing of Balwinder Singh Sekhon. The failure of the Chandigarh High Court in giving Sekhon a proper hearing with legal representation after an opportunity to file a written reply has violated his fundamental right to natural justice under Article 14 of the Constitution. The Court failed to follow the procedure established by law before convicting and sentencing Sekhon and this violates his right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Of all cases, it is Contempt of Court cases where allegations made against Judges are the cause of action, that it becomes morally imperative that the Court hearing criminal contempt charges scrupulously follow the procedure established by law and afford full natural justice rights to the accused. This is necessary not just to uphold the sanctity of due process and the rule of law, but also to accord legitimacy to the judicial process and the judicial verdict.
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