Bombay High Court initiates contempt case against teacher for baseless bribery allegations against judge

The Bombay High Court at Nagpur recently initiated contempt of court proceedings against a teacher who made bribery allegations against a presiding officer of a tribunal [Anand Borkar v Shrikrushna B Thakare].The Court's ruling comes after the teacher accused the judicial officer of demanding a bribe in connection with his appeal against a management decision to promote a junior colleague over him.A Bench consisting of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Vrushali Joshi reviewed the case and framed charges against the teacher, Shrikrushna Thakare, after concluding that the allegations were "prima facie contemptuous." "The reference under sub-section 2 of section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act categorically and in detail deals with the conduct of the contemnor, which prima facie can be inferred as contemptuous. That being so, we are satisfied that the respondent contemnor is required to be proceeded against under the Contempt of Courts Act, and as such, we are framing the following charge against the contemnor," the Court said. .It subsequently framed charges against the teacher after noting that his allegations lacked evidence and were contradictory, ultimately undermining the authority of the judicial officer. "Shrikrushna B Thakare, has conducted yourself before the Presiding Officer School Tribunal in Appeal No. 10 of 2016, 39 of 2016, and 67 of 2016 in a contemptuous manner thereby making baseless and bald allegations against the Presiding Officer of demand of bribe. Such contemptuous conduct is with an intention to scandalize the Court and the Presiding Officer so as to undermine his authority. As such, you are liable to be proceeded against under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, as such the aforesaid charge is framed," the Court said in its order..Thakare was given two weeks to file his response to the charges.The case revolves around Thakare’s appeal against a management decision that reduced his rank and promoted a junior colleague to the position of Head Master. Thakare claimed that during a hearing on September 3, 2024, the presiding officer of the School Tribunal demanded a bribe of ₹2 lakh to rule in his favor. Further, Thakare alleged that the management had paid a bribe of ₹5 lakh to the presiding officer in exchange for a decision against him..The teacher’s allegations were scrutinized in light of a complaint he filed with the Anti-Corruption Bureau. In the complaint, he stated that he had "reliably learned" about the bribe paid by the management. However, the court found his statements inconsistent. In one part of the complaint, Thakare claimed the management had paid ₹5 lakh in bribe, while elsewhere in the complaint, he accused the Presiding Officer of demanding ₹2 lakh. These contradictions led the court to conclude that Thakare's accusations were baseless and intended to undermine the authority of the court.The case will be heard again on April 3, 2025..Advocate D A Sonwane appeared for the contemnor, Shrikrushna B Thakare.Additional Government Pleader N S Autkar appeared for the State..[Read Order]