Andhra Pradesh High Court grants bail to two lawyers accused of making comments against judges on social media

The Andhra Pradesh High Court recently granted bail to two advocates who were accused of making derogatory comments against the judiciary and judges on social media [Gopal Krishna Kalanidhi v. State of Andhra Pradesh]..Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy took note of the fact that the lawyers had tendered an apology that had already been accepted by the High Court and that the investigation against them was already complete..The case arose after the Registrar lodged a report alleging that many people had published wild and reckless allegations against High Court and Supreme Court judges on social media, and indulged in tarnishing the judiciary’s image.Pursuant to the High Court’s previous order, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the investigation into this complaint. The petitioners in the instant case were accused persons in the crime registered by the CBI..The lawyers had made a video making comments against the High Court. The video was uploaded on YouTube and was circulated on Suman TV’s YouTube channel that has wide circulation.The CBI arrested the petitioners, stating that they did not cooperate with the investigation and refused to disclose the name of the persons behind this conspiracy..The petitioners, however, claimed that in a contempt case initiated against them, they had tendered an unconditional apology to the High Court, which had accepted the same and closed the case. The High Court agreed that the petitioners’ apology being accepted was a mitigating circumstance in the case, and must be considered for the grant of their bail.It thus granted the two lawyers bail on execution of self-bond amounting to ₹50,000. They were directed to report to the Investigation Officer once a week. Further, they were directed not to indulge in making comments against the judiciary or tamper with evidence..While hearing the same application, the single-judge rejected the bail plea of a software engineer accused of the same offence as his apology had not been accepted by the High Court yet, and the investigation against him remained pending. The Court noted,"He being an educated man and Software Engineer is not justified in making such irresponsible comments against the Judiciary and the High Court.".[Read order]